By Nicole Wootton-Cane
Publication Date: 2026-04-27 08:21:00
Experts have warned of “rapid, frightening progress” in the ability to artificially generate images of child sexual abuse (CSAM), as new data showed the number of reports has risen by more than 150 percent in a year.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said it received 491 reports containing realistic AI-generated CSAM in 2025, up from 193 in 2024.
In its annual report published on Thursday, the charity said it had seen AI CSAM take on “new forms” in 2025, including on AI companion pages and advertisements on mainstream social media sites.
The IWF said video content was particularly concerning, with analysts reporting 260 times more AI-generated child sexual abuse videos (3,443) in 2025 than in 2024, when they saw just 13.
Videos generated from text prompts and images are on the rise with new technology, as are videos generated by nudifying bots.
Reports of AI-generated images of child sexual abuse have risen significantly in just a year, the IWF said (PA) (PA archive)