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Tech firms and child safety organizations will receive authority to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child abuse images under new UK legislation.

Significant Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The declaration coincided with revelations from a protection watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have increased dramatically in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Structure

Under the changes, the authorities will permit approved AI developers and child safety organizations to examine AI systems – the underlying technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate protective measures to stop them from creating images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about preventing abuse before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Experts, under strict conditions, can now detect the risk in AI models promptly."

Tackling Legal Obstacles

The changes have been implemented because it is illegal to produce and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot generate such content as part of a testing regime. Until now, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

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

Legal Framework

The amendments are being introduced by the authorities as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on owning, producing or sharing AI models developed to create exploitative content.

Practical Consequences

This week, the minister toured the London base of a children's helpline and listened to a simulated conversation to advisors involving a report of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a adolescent seeking help after being blackmailed using a explicit AI-generated image of himself, constructed using AI.

"When I learn about children facing blackmail online, it is a source of extreme anger in me and rightful anger amongst parents," he stated.

Concerning Statistics

A leading online safety foundation stated that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as online pages that may contain numerous images – had more than doubled so far this year.

Cases of category A content – the most serious form of abuse – rose from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were predominantly victimized, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

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

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so survivors can be victimised repeatedly with just a simple actions, providing criminals the capability to make possibly limitless quantities of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Content which additionally exploits victims' suffering, and makes young people, particularly female children, more vulnerable both online and offline."

Counseling Session Information

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

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, body and appearance
• AI assistants dissuading young people from talking to safe adults about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated content
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated images

During April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 support sessions where AI, conversational AI and associated topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 sessions were connected with mental health and wellness, including using AI assistants for support and AI therapeutic applications.