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Tech firms and child safety organizations will be granted authority to assess whether AI systems can generate child exploitation material under recently introduced British legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The declaration came as revelations from a protection watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the last twelve months, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Framework

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow approved AI developers and child safety groups to examine AI models – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and verify they have sufficient safeguards to prevent them from producing images of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now identify the danger in AI models early."

Addressing Legal Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is illegal to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot create such images as part of a evaluation regime. Until now, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

This law is designed to averting that issue by enabling to stop the creation of those materials at their origin.

Legal Structure

The changes are being added by the authorities as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on owning, producing or sharing AI models designed to create exploitative content.

Real-World Impact

This week, the official toured the London headquarters of Childline and listened to a mock-up conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of himself, constructed using AI.

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

Concerning Data

A prominent internet monitoring foundation reported that cases of AI-generated abuse content – such as webpages that may include multiple images – had more than doubled so far this year.

Cases of the most severe content – the gravest form of exploitation – increased from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

• Female children were predominantly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Response

The law change could "constitute a crucial step to guarantee AI tools are secure before they are released," commented the head of the internet monitoring foundation.

"AI tools have made it so survivors can be victimised all over again with just a simple actions, giving criminals the ability to create possibly endless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she added. "Content which additionally commodifies survivors' suffering, and makes children, particularly girls, less safe both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Information

Childline also released details of counselling interactions where AI has been referenced. AI-related risks discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Employing AI to evaluate body size, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading children from talking to trusted guardians about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Online blackmail using AI-manipulated pictures

Between April and September this year, the helpline delivered 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellbeing, including using chatbots for assistance and AI therapy applications.