UK to become first nation to make AI-generated child abuse material a crime

The Home Office said the UK will now become the first nation to make it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Offenders will reportedly face up to five years of jail term.

As per the new law, possessing AI paedophile manuals will also be made illegal in the UK.

People found possessing it will face up to three years in prison.

The manual is used to teach people about how to use AI for sexual abuse.

"What we're seeing is that AI is now putting the online child abuse on steroids," Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told BBC.

Cooper said AI was "industrialising the scale" of sexual abuse against children.

Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) analysts confirmed 245 reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse in 2024 compared with 51 in 2023, a 380% rise.

Of these reports, 193 involved imagery that was so realistic it had to be treated exactly the same as ‘real’ photographic imagery of child sexual abuse.

Derek Ray-Hill, Interim Chief Executive of the IWF, said: “We have long been calling for the law to be tightened up, and are pleased the Government has adopted our recommendations. These steps will have a concrete impact on online safety."

Derek Ray-Hill said: "Children who have suffered sexual abuse in the past are now being made victims all over again, with images of their abuse being commodified to train AI models."

He said: "It is a nightmare scenario, and any child can now be made a victim, with life-like images of them being sexually abused obtainable with only a few prompts, and a few clicks."

Gregor Poynton MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children’s Online Safety, said: "Protecting our children must always be our top priority. The rise of AI-generated child sexual abuse material is a deeply disturbing development that threatens to escalate online child exploitation."

“While AI innovation offers many benefits, it must never come at the expense of child safety. I am encouraged by the steps the Government has taken to address this growing threat, and I will continue to push for decisive action to ensure robust safeguards are put in place to prevent this technology from being weaponised by those who seek to harm children," he said.