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Tech firms and child protection organizations will be granted permission to evaluate whether artificial intelligence systems can produce child abuse material under new UK laws.

Significant 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 last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Legal Framework

Under the changes, the authorities will allow approved AI companies and child safety organizations to examine AI systems – the foundational systems for conversational AI and image generators – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from creating depictions of child sexual abuse.

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

Addressing Legal Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot generate such images as part of a evaluation process. Until now, authorities had to delay action until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before dealing with it.

This legislation is aimed at preventing that problem by enabling to stop the production of those materials at their origin.

Legislative Structure

The amendments are being added by the authorities as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on owning, creating or sharing AI models developed to generate exploitative content.

Real-World Consequences

This recently, the official toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a simulated conversation to counsellors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a explicit AI-generated image of themselves, constructed using AI.

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

Concerning Statistics

A prominent internet monitoring foundation stated that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as online pages that may include multiple files – had significantly increased so far this year.

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

• Female children were predominantly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

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

"AI tools have made it so victims can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the ability to make possibly endless amounts of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she added. "Content which additionally commodifies survivors' trauma, and makes children, particularly girls, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Session Information

The children's helpline also released information of support sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Using AI to evaluate weight, physique and looks
• Chatbots dissuading young people from consulting trusted guardians about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Digital extortion using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 support interactions where AI, conversational AI and related terms were mentioned, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, encompassing utilizing chatbots for support and AI therapeutic apps.