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How AI is being used to create Child Sexual Abuse Imagery
New research from the Internet Watch Foundation highlights the rapid rise in the use of artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse imagery.
New research from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) highlights the rapid and deeply concerning rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate child sexual abuse imagery.
The IWF warns that this is not a future risk but a growing and present threat. Its analysis found tens of thousands of AI-generated images being shared on dark web forums, with thousands depicting criminal child sexual abuse. The scale and speed of production mean offenders can now create large volumes of illegal content quickly and cheaply.
The research also shows a shift towards more extreme material. 65% of videos (2,233 in total) identified by the IWF last year were classified as Category A, the most extreme classification indicating that perpetrators are using AI tools to create increasingly graphic and harmful content.
In 2025, the IWF assessed 8,029 AI-generated images and videos as showing realistic child sexual abuse. This imagery appears across both dark web and mainstream commercial platforms on the clear web. It is now more accessible and harder to contain.
AI- generated abuse is not victimless. Some content uses real children’s images to train AI systems or to create realistic composites, perpetuating harm and re-victimising survivors. AI CSAM fuels sexual interest in children, normalises extreme violence, and increases the risk of contact offending.
Overall, the IWF is calling for urgent action from governments, technology companies and law enforcement to strengthen safeguards, regulate AI tools, and prevent their misuse in creating and distributing child sexual abuse imagery.
To find out more read the report:
Read Safeline’s resource on Hentai, a popular form of animé pornography:
In the UK, nearly one in five (21%) reports of nude or sexual imagery of children and young people made to the Report Remove service – a portal which allows children to anonymously self-refer sexualised images of themselves — involved digitally altered or manipulated content, including through AI or nudify apps. By creating a Childline account and submitting a report via Report Remove, young users can have their case reviewed by the IWF, which works swiftly to ensure the content is removed.
Source: IWF
In February 2025, the UK Government announced measures under the Crime and Policing Bill to close legal loopholes related to AI-generated CSAM. This includes the introduction of a new criminal offence for making, adapting, possessing, supplying, or offering to supply a CSA image-generator.