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Tech firms and child protection agencies will be granted authority to assess whether AI tools can produce child abuse images under new British legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Material

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

New Legal Framework

Under the amendments, the authorities will permit approved AI developers and child safety groups to inspect AI systems – the underlying systems for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from creating depictions of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about preventing abuse before it happens," declared Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the danger in AI systems promptly."

Addressing Regulatory Obstacles

The changes have been implemented because it is against the law to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI creators and others cannot create such content as part of a evaluation regime. Previously, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

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

Legislative Framework

The amendments are being introduced by the authorities as revisions to the criminal justice legislation, which is also establishing a prohibition on possessing, creating or sharing AI models developed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Practical Impact

This week, the official toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and listened to a mock-up conversation to counsellors involving a report of AI-based abuse. The call depicted a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I hear about children experiencing blackmail online, it is a cause of intense anger in me and justified concern amongst families," he stated.

Alarming Statistics

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

Cases of the most severe material – the most serious form of abuse – rose from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

• Girls were overwhelmingly victimized, making up 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The law change could "constitute a vital step to guarantee AI tools are safe before they are released," commented the head of the online safety organization.

"AI tools have enabled so victims can be targeted all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the capability to make possibly endless amounts of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she added. "Material which further commodifies survivors' suffering, and renders children, particularly girls, less safe both online and offline."

Counseling Session Information

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

• Using AI to rate body size, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading young people from consulting trusted adults about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, the helpline delivered 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 interactions were related to mental health and wellness, encompassing utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapy apps.