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Technology companies and child safety agencies will receive permission to assess whether AI systems can produce child exploitation images under new UK laws.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The announcement came as revelations from a protection watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have increased dramatically in the last twelve months, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Framework

Under the amendments, the authorities will permit designated AI companies and child protection organizations to inspect AI models – the underlying systems for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have sufficient protective measures to stop them from producing images of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about stopping exploitation before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now identify the risk in AI models early."

Addressing Legal Obstacles

The changes have been introduced because it is against the law to create and own 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 published online before dealing with it.

This legislation is designed to preventing that problem by helping to stop the production of those materials at source.

Legal Structure

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

Practical Impact

This recently, the minister toured the London base of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call portrayed a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a explicit AI-generated image of themselves, created using AI.

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

Alarming Data

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

Instances of the most severe material – the gravest form of abuse – 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 infants to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

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

"AI tools have made it so survivors can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, providing criminals the capability to make potentially endless amounts of advanced, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Material which additionally commodifies victims' suffering, and renders children, particularly girls, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Support Interaction Information

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

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading young people from consulting safe guardians about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online blackmail using AI-manipulated pictures

During April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 counselling interactions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were mentioned, four times 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, including utilizing AI assistants for assistance and AI therapy applications.