An online safety campaign by The Internet Watch Foundation has pushed through new government legislation designed to stop child sexual abuse material in the internet domain. As governments and authorities try to regulate the endless amount of online content, and tackle illegal content on the dark web, AI is being used as a deadly tool to generate more synthetic deepfake abuse imagery.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a raft of legislation cracking down on the possession and distribution of AI models and criminalising the possession of offender manuals. The Foundation is one of the most prominent voices in this echochamber, lobbying the government to bring in new measures to challenge the concerning spike in new technology enabling crime and fraud. Currently, protections do not go far enough, allowing criminals to capitalise on loopholes in the system. The resulting child sexual abuse imagery can therefore be very realistic and created offline or online without detection.
AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery has quadrupled in a year, according to IWF data. There were 245 reports of abuse found online in 2024 compared with 51 reports in 2023. With a 380% rise in criminality, the proportion and advanced level of synthetic imagery on the world wide web has created like-for-like similarity with ‘real’ photographic imagery of child sexual abuse. 193 images were near identical to actual images of child sexual abuse.
Derek Ray-Hill, Interim Chief Executive of the IWF, commented: “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.”
“The frightening speed with which AI imagery has become indistinguishable from photographic abuse has shown the need for legislation to keep pace with new technologies.”
“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.”
The measures announced today will be introduced as part of the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill which is set to come before Parliament in the spring.
