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Tech firms and child protection organizations will receive permission to evaluate whether artificial intelligence systems can generate child exploitation material under recently introduced UK laws.

Significant Increase in AI-Generated Illegal Content

The declaration came as revelations from a protection watchdog showing that cases of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Legal Structure

Under the changes, the authorities will permit approved AI companies and child safety organizations to examine AI models – the foundational technology for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and verify they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from producing images of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about stopping exploitation before it happens," declared Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now identify the danger in AI models promptly."

Tackling Regulatory Challenges

The changes have been implemented because it is illegal to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and others cannot create such content as part of a testing regime. Until now, officials had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

This legislation is aimed at preventing that problem by enabling to stop the creation of those images at source.

Legislative Framework

The amendments are being added by the authorities as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a prohibition on possessing, creating or sharing AI systems developed to create exploitative content.

Practical Impact

This recently, the minister visited the London base of Childline and listened to a mock-up call to advisors involving a account of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a teenager seeking help after being blackmailed using a explicit deepfake of himself, created using AI.

"When I learn about young people facing blackmail online, it is a source of extreme anger in me and justified anger amongst families," he said.

Alarming Statistics

A prominent online safety foundation reported that cases of AI-generated exploitation material – such as webpages that may contain multiple images – had more than doubled so far this year.

Instances of the most severe content – the most serious form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were predominantly victimized, accounting for 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "constitute a vital step to guarantee AI products are safe before they are launched," commented the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so victims can be targeted repeatedly with just a simple actions, giving criminals the ability to make potentially limitless amounts of sophisticated, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she added. "Content which further exploits victims' suffering, and makes young people, particularly female children, less safe both online and offline."

Counseling Session Data

Childline also released details of support interactions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related risks mentioned in the conversations comprise:

• Employing AI to evaluate body size, physique and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading young people from talking to safe adults about abuse
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-faked images

Between April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, chatbots and related topics were mentioned, four times as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Fifty percent of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellbeing, including utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapeutic applications.