Britain will make it illegal to use artificial intelligence tools that create child sexual abuse images, it said on Saturday, becoming the first country in the world to introduce the new AI sexual abuse offenses.
Possessing, taking, making, showing or distributing explicit images of children is a crime in England and Wales. The new offenses target the use of AI tools to “nudeify” real-life images of children.
The move comes as online criminals increasingly use AI to create child abuse material, with reports of such explicit images rising nearly five-fold in 2024, according to the Internet Watch Foundation.
“We know that sick predators’ activities online often lead to them carrying out the most horrific abuse in person,” said Yvette Cooper, the United Kingdom’s interior minister. “It is vital that we tackle child sexual abuse online as well as offline so we can better protect the public from new and emerging crimes.”
Predators also use AI tools to disguise their identity and blackmail children with fake images to force them into further abuse, such as by streaming live images, the government said.
The new criminal offenses include the possession, creation or distribution of AI tools designed to create child sexual abuse material and the possession of so-called AI “pedophile manuals,” which provide instructions on the usage of the technology.
Another specific offense will target those who run websites on which child sexual abuse content is distributed. The government will also enable authorities to unlock digital devices for inspection.
The measures will be included in the Crime and Policing Bill when it comes to parliament.
Britain said earlier this month it would also make the creation and sharing of sexually explicit “deepfakes” – videos, pictures or audio clips made with AI to look real – a criminal offense.