UK Tech Companies and Child Protection Agencies to Test AI's Capability to Generate Exploitation Images

Technology companies and child safety organizations will receive permission to assess whether artificial intelligence systems can generate child abuse material under recently introduced UK legislation.

Substantial Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Content

The declaration came as findings from a protection watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated CSAM have more than doubled in the last twelve months, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

Updated Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the government will allow designated AI companies and child safety groups to examine AI systems – the foundational systems for conversational AI and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate safeguards to prevent them from producing images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about stopping abuse before it occurs," stated Kanishka Narayan, adding: "Experts, under rigorous protocols, can now identify the danger in AI systems promptly."

Addressing Regulatory Obstacles

The amendments have been implemented because it is illegal to create and own CSAM, meaning that AI developers and other parties cannot generate 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 problem by helping to stop the production of those images at source.

Legislative Structure

The amendments are being added by the government as modifications to the crime and policing bill, which is also implementing a ban on possessing, creating or sharing AI models designed to generate exploitative content.

Real-World Consequences

This week, the minister visited the London headquarters of a children's helpline and heard a simulated call to counsellors featuring a account of AI-based exploitation. The interaction portrayed a teenager requesting help after being blackmailed using a explicit deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I hear about children experiencing extortion online, it is a source of extreme frustration in me and rightful concern amongst parents," he said.

Concerning Data

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

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

• Female children were overwhelmingly targeted, making up 94% of illegal AI images in 2025
• Depictions of infants to toddlers rose from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The legislative amendment could "represent a vital step to guarantee AI products are secure before they are launched," commented the chief executive of the online safety foundation.

"AI tools have enabled so survivors can be targeted all over again with just a simple actions, giving criminals the ability to make potentially limitless quantities of advanced, photorealistic child sexual abuse material," she added. "Content which additionally commodifies survivors' trauma, and makes children, especially girls, more vulnerable on and off line."

Support Session Information

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

• Using AI to evaluate body size, body and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading children from talking to safe adults about harm
• Being bullied online with AI-generated content
• Online extortion using AI-faked pictures

Between April and September this year, Childline delivered 367 counselling interactions where AI, chatbots and associated terms were mentioned, four times as many as in the same period last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were related to mental health and wellbeing, including using AI assistants for support and AI therapeutic apps.