British Technology Firms and Child Safety Agencies to Test AI's Capability to Generate Abuse Images

Technology companies and child protection organizations will be granted permission to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child abuse images under new British legislation.

Significant Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Material

The declaration coincided with findings from a safety watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Regulatory Framework

Under the changes, the authorities will permit approved AI developers and child safety groups to examine AI systems – the foundational systems for chatbots and image generators – and verify they have sufficient protective measures to prevent them from creating images of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it occurs," declared the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous conditions, can now identify the danger in AI models early."

Tackling Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been introduced because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot generate 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 aimed at averting that problem by enabling to halt the production of those images at source.

Legal Structure

The changes are being introduced by the government as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on owning, producing or sharing AI models developed to create child sexual abuse material.

Practical Consequences

This week, the official visited the London headquarters of Childline and heard a simulated call to advisors featuring a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a teenager 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 extreme anger in me and rightful concern amongst parents," he stated.

Alarming Data

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

Cases of the most severe content – the gravest form of abuse – increased from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were overwhelmingly victimized, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The law change could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI tools are safe before they are launched," commented the chief executive of the internet monitoring foundation.

"AI tools have enabled so survivors can be targeted repeatedly with just a simple actions, providing criminals the capability to create possibly limitless quantities of advanced, photorealistic exploitative content," she added. "Content which additionally commodifies victims' trauma, and renders young people, especially girls, less safe on and off line."

Counseling Interaction Information

Childline also released details of counselling sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Using AI to evaluate weight, physique and looks
• AI assistants discouraging children 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 conducted 367 counselling sessions where AI, conversational AI and associated topics were discussed, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellness, encompassing utilizing chatbots for support and AI therapeutic apps.