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Technology companies and child safety agencies will be granted authority to evaluate whether AI systems can generate child exploitation material under recently introduced British laws.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The declaration came as findings from a safety monitoring body showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will permit designated AI developers and child protection organizations to inspect AI models – the underlying systems for chatbots and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from producing images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about stopping exploitation before it occurs," declared Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Experts, under strict protocols, can now identify the risk in AI systems promptly."

Tackling Legal Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is against the law to create and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot generate such images as part of a evaluation process. Previously, authorities had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

This legislation is designed to averting that problem by enabling to stop the creation of those images at their origin.

Legislative Structure

The amendments are being introduced by the government as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a prohibition on possessing, producing or distributing AI models developed to create child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Consequences

This week, the minister toured the London headquarters of Childline and heard a simulated call to counsellors featuring a account of AI-based abuse. The call portrayed a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing extortion online, it is a source of extreme anger in me and justified anger amongst parents," he said.

Concerning Data

A prominent online safety organization stated that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as webpages that may contain multiple images – had more than doubled so far this year.

Instances of category A material – the gravest form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

• Girls were overwhelmingly victimized, accounting for 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "represent a crucial step to ensure AI products are safe before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the online safety organization.

"AI tools have enabled so survivors can be victimised repeatedly with just a simple actions, giving offenders the capability to make possibly endless quantities of sophisticated, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Content which further exploits victims' suffering, and renders young people, particularly girls, less safe both online and offline."

Support Session Information

The children's helpline also released information of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms mentioned in the sessions include:

• Using AI to evaluate weight, body and looks
• Chatbots discouraging children from consulting safe guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Online extortion using AI-faked pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 counselling interactions where AI, chatbots and associated topics were discussed, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 sessions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic apps.