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Tech firms and child safety organizations will be granted permission to evaluate whether AI systems can produce child abuse material under new British legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The announcement coincided with revelations from a safety monitoring body showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Structure

Under the amendments, the authorities will allow approved AI developers and child protection groups to examine AI systems – the foundational technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it occurs," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Specialists, under strict protocols, can now identify the danger in AI systems promptly."

Addressing Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such content as part of a testing regime. Previously, authorities had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

This law is designed to preventing that issue by helping to stop the production of those images at source.

Legislative Structure

The changes are being added by the government as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a ban on possessing, creating or distributing AI systems developed to create child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Consequences

This week, the minister toured the London headquarters of Childline and listened to a simulated call to counsellors featuring a report of AI-based abuse. The interaction depicted a teenager seeking help after facing extortion using a explicit deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I hear about young people facing blackmail online, it is a cause of intense anger in me and rightful anger amongst parents," he stated.

Alarming Data

A leading internet monitoring foundation reported that cases of AI-generated exploitation material – such as webpages that may include multiple files – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Female children were predominantly victimized, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "represent a vital step to guarantee AI tools are secure before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the internet monitoring organization.

"AI tools have made it so victims can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, giving offenders the ability to create potentially endless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she continued. "Material which additionally commodifies victims' suffering, and renders children, especially girls, more vulnerable on and off line."

Support Session Data

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

• Using AI to evaluate weight, physique and appearance
• AI assistants discouraging young people from talking to safe guardians about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated images

During April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 counselling sessions where AI, chatbots and related terms were discussed, significantly more as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 sessions were related to mental health and wellness, encompassing using AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic apps.