Sun Feb 02 17:21:06 UTC 2025: ## UK to Become First Country to Outlaw AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Images
**London, February 2, 2025** – The United Kingdom will become the first nation to criminalize the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create and distribute sexual abuse images of children, according to a government announcement. The new laws, part of the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill, will carry penalties of up to five years in prison for possessing, creating, or distributing such AI tools. Possession of AI “paedophile manuals” offering instructions on using AI for child sexual abuse will be punishable by up to three years imprisonment.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that AI is exacerbating the already growing problem of online child sexual abuse, making it easier for perpetrators to groom and blackmail children. The legislation will also target individuals operating websites that share child sexual abuse material and grooming advice, facing potential sentences of up to ten years.
The government cites the use of AI to “nudeify” existing images of children or superimpose faces onto existing abusive images as a significant concern. This move follows warnings from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which reported a sharp increase in AI-generated child sexual abuse images, including a 10% rise in the most serious category within a year. In one 30-day period in 2024, IWF analysts discovered 3,512 such images on a single dark web site.
Cooper highlighted the scale of the problem, citing a recent inquiry that estimated 500,000 children in the UK are victims of child abuse annually, with online abuse representing a growing proportion. While acknowledging that other countries haven’t yet taken this step, Cooper expressed hope that the UK’s legislation will serve as a model for global action.
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