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Technology companies and child safety agencies will be granted permission to evaluate whether AI systems can produce child abuse material under recently introduced UK legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The declaration came as findings from a safety monitoring body showing that reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the last twelve months, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Framework

Under the changes, the government will permit designated AI developers and child safety organizations to inspect AI systems – the foundational systems for conversational AI and image generators – and ensure they have adequate safeguards to prevent them from creating images of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now detect the danger in AI systems early."

Tackling Legal Challenges

The changes have been implemented because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot create such images as part of a testing process. Previously, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

This legislation is designed to averting that problem by enabling to halt the creation of those images at their origin.

Legislative Structure

The amendments are being introduced by the authorities as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a prohibition on owning, creating or distributing AI models designed to create exploitative content.

Practical Impact

This week, the official toured the London base of a children's helpline and heard a simulated call to advisors involving a report of AI-based abuse. The interaction depicted a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a sexualised AI-generated image of themselves, constructed using AI.

"When I hear about young people experiencing blackmail online, it is a source of intense anger in me and justified concern amongst parents," he stated.

Concerning Statistics

A prominent online safety foundation stated that instances of AI-generated abuse content – such as webpages that may include multiple images – had significantly increased so far this year.

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

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, accounting for 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

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

"AI tools have made it so survivors can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, giving criminals the ability to create potentially limitless amounts of sophisticated, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Content which additionally commodifies survivors' suffering, and renders children, especially girls, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Session Information

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

• Employing AI to rate weight, body and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading children from talking to trusted adults about abuse
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated images

During April and September this year, Childline conducted 367 support sessions where AI, chatbots and associated terms were mentioned, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 sessions were related to mental health and wellbeing, encompassing using AI assistants for assistance and AI therapeutic apps.