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Tech firms and child protection organizations will be granted authority to evaluate whether AI tools can produce child exploitation material under new UK legislation.

Substantial Rise in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The announcement coincided with revelations from a safety monitoring body showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the past year, growing from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the government will permit designated AI developers and child protection groups to examine AI systems – the underlying systems for chatbots and image generators – and verify they have adequate protective measures to stop them from producing images of child sexual abuse.

"Ultimately about preventing exploitation before it happens," stated the minister for AI and online safety, adding: "Experts, under rigorous conditions, can now detect the danger in AI models promptly."

Tackling Regulatory Obstacles

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

This law is designed to averting that problem by enabling to stop the creation of those materials at their origin.

Legal Structure

The amendments are being added by the authorities as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on possessing, producing or distributing AI systems designed to generate child sexual abuse material.

Real-World Impact

This recently, the official visited the London base of a children's helpline and heard a mock-up call to counsellors featuring a report of AI-based exploitation. The interaction depicted a adolescent requesting help after being blackmailed using a sexualised deepfake of himself, created using AI.

"When I learn about young people facing blackmail online, it is a cause of extreme frustration in me and justified concern amongst parents," he said.

Alarming Statistics

A prominent online safety organization reported that cases of AI-generated abuse content – such as online pages that may contain multiple files – had significantly increased so far this year.

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

• Girls were overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of prohibited AI images in 2025
• Portrayals of newborns to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Sector Reaction

The legislative amendment could "represent a vital step to ensure AI tools are safe before they are released," stated the head of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have made it so victims can be targeted repeatedly with just a few clicks, giving criminals the ability to make potentially endless amounts of sophisticated, lifelike exploitative content," she added. "Material which further exploits victims' trauma, and renders children, particularly female children, more vulnerable on and off line."

Support Session Data

The children's helpline also released details of counselling sessions where AI has been mentioned. AI-related harms mentioned in the conversations comprise:

• Employing AI to evaluate weight, body and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading young people from consulting safe adults about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Digital blackmail using AI-faked pictures

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

Fifty percent of the references of AI in the 2025 sessions were related to psychological wellbeing and wellness, encompassing utilizing chatbots for support and AI therapeutic apps.