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Technology companies and child protection agencies will receive authority to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child abuse material under new British legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The declaration coincided with 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.

Updated Legal Structure

Under the changes, the authorities will permit designated AI developers and child safety groups to examine AI systems – the foundational systems for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and ensure they have sufficient protective measures to prevent them from creating images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about stopping abuse before it occurs," declared the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Specialists, under strict protocols, can now detect the danger in AI models promptly."

Addressing Legal Obstacles

The amendments have been introduced because it is illegal to create and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot generate such images as part of a testing regime. Until now, officials had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before dealing with it.

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

Legislative Framework

The amendments are being introduced by the authorities as modifications to the criminal justice legislation, which is also implementing a ban on owning, producing or distributing AI models developed to create exploitative content.

Real-World Impact

This week, the official visited the London base of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up call to counsellors involving a report of AI-based abuse. The call portrayed a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a explicit deepfake of himself, created using AI.

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

Concerning Statistics

A prominent online safety foundation reported that cases of AI-generated abuse material – such as online pages that may include multiple images – had significantly increased so far this year.

Instances of the most severe content – the gravest form of abuse – increased from 2,621 visual files to 3,086.

• Girls were predominantly victimized, accounting for 94% of illegal AI depictions in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to toddlers increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a crucial step to ensure AI products are safe before they are released," stated the head of the internet monitoring foundation.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so survivors can be targeted repeatedly with just a simple actions, providing offenders the ability to create potentially limitless quantities of advanced, lifelike exploitative content," she continued. "Material which further commodifies survivors' trauma, and renders young people, particularly female children, less safe on and off line."

Support Interaction Information

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

• Employing AI to rate body size, body and looks
• Chatbots dissuading children from consulting trusted guardians about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Online extortion using AI-manipulated images

Between April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI and related topics were mentioned, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

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