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Technology companies and child protection organizations will be granted permission to evaluate whether AI systems can generate child abuse images under recently introduced UK legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The declaration came as findings from a protection watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have increased dramatically in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Legal Framework

Under the changes, the government will permit designated AI developers and child safety organizations to inspect AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it occurs," declared Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Specialists, under rigorous conditions, can now identify the risk in AI models promptly."

Addressing Legal Challenges

The amendments have been implemented because it is against the law to create and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot generate such images as part of a evaluation regime. Previously, officials had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

This legislation is designed to averting that issue by enabling to halt the creation of those materials at source.

Legal Framework

The amendments are being added by the authorities as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a ban on owning, producing or sharing AI models designed to create child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Consequences

This week, the official visited the London base of a children's helpline and listened to a mock-up call to counsellors featuring a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction depicted a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of themselves, constructed using AI.

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

Alarming Statistics

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

Instances of the most severe content – the gravest form of abuse – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a crucial step to ensure AI tools are secure before they are launched," commented the head of the internet monitoring foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so survivors can be targeted all over again with just a few clicks, giving offenders the ability to make potentially limitless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she continued. "Material which additionally commodifies survivors' trauma, and makes children, especially female children, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Interaction Data

The children's helpline also released details of counselling sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related risks mentioned in the sessions include:

• Using AI to evaluate body size, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading children from talking to safe adults about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital blackmail using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots and associated terms were discussed, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with mental health and wellbeing, encompassing using chatbots for support and AI therapeutic apps.