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Tech firms and child safety organizations will be granted permission to assess whether AI systems can generate child abuse images under new British legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The announcement came as findings from a protection monitoring body showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Legal Structure

Under the changes, the authorities will permit designated AI companies and child protection organizations to examine AI models – the foundational technology for conversational AI and image generators – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from producing images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about preventing abuse before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now identify the danger in AI systems promptly."

Addressing Legal Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is against the law to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot generate such content as part of a testing process. Until now, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before addressing it.

This legislation is aimed at averting that problem by enabling to halt the production of those images at source.

Legal Framework

The changes are being introduced by the government as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a prohibition on owning, creating or distributing AI models developed to create child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Consequences

This recently, the minister toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and listened to a mock-up call to advisors involving a account of AI-based abuse. The interaction depicted a adolescent seeking help after facing extortion using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about children experiencing extortion online, it is a cause of extreme anger in me and rightful concern amongst families," he stated.

Concerning Statistics

A prominent online safety organization reported that cases of AI-generated exploitation content – such as online pages that may contain numerous images – had more than doubled so far this year.

Instances of category A content – the gravest form of exploitation – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, accounting for 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "represent a vital step to guarantee AI products are safe before they are launched," stated the head of the internet monitoring foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so survivors can be targeted repeatedly with just a few clicks, giving offenders the ability to create possibly limitless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Material which further commodifies victims' suffering, and renders young people, especially girls, less safe both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Data

The children's helpline also published details of counselling interactions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, physique and looks
• Chatbots dissuading children from talking to safe adults about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-manipulated pictures

Between April and September this year, the helpline delivered 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots and associated topics were discussed, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic apps.