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Tech firms and child safety organizations will receive permission to assess whether artificial intelligence tools can generate child abuse material under recently introduced UK laws.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Illegal Material

The declaration coincided with 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.

New Regulatory Framework

Under the amendments, the government will permit designated AI developers and child protection organizations to examine AI systems – the underlying systems for conversational AI and image generators – and verify they have sufficient safeguards to stop them from producing depictions of child exploitation.

"Fundamentally about preventing exploitation before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, noting: "Specialists, under rigorous protocols, can now identify the danger in AI models early."

Tackling Legal Obstacles

The amendments have been introduced because it is against the law to create and possess CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot create such content as part of a testing regime. Until now, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was published online before addressing it.

This legislation is designed to preventing that issue by helping to halt the creation of those images at their origin.

Legal Structure

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

Real-World Consequences

This recently, the minister toured the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up conversation to counsellors involving a report of AI-based exploitation. The call depicted a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a sexualised AI-generated image of himself, created using AI.

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

Concerning Data

A leading online safety foundation stated that instances of AI-generated abuse content – such as webpages that may include numerous images – had more than doubled so far this year.

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

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of newborns to two-year-olds rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The law change could "constitute a vital step to ensure AI tools are safe before they are released," stated the head of the internet monitoring organization.

"AI tools have enabled so victims can be targeted repeatedly with just a simple actions, providing offenders the ability to make potentially endless amounts of advanced, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Content which further commodifies survivors' trauma, and makes young people, particularly girls, more vulnerable on and off line."

Support Interaction Data

Childline also published information of counselling interactions where AI has been referenced. AI-related risks mentioned in the sessions include:

• Using AI to rate weight, body and looks
• AI assistants discouraging children from talking to trusted adults about harm
• Facing harassment online with AI-generated content
• Online blackmail using AI-manipulated pictures

During April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 counselling interactions where AI, conversational AI and associated topics were discussed, four times as many as in the same period last year.

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