The Internet Watch Foundation assessed 6,310 AI-generated images that fell within the legal definition of child sexual abuse material in the first half of 2026, compared with just over 4,500 for the whole of the previous year.
The Internet Watch Foundation, a British organization that tracks child sexual abuse content around the world, examined more AI-generated photorealistic images in the first half of 2026 than in the whole of 2025. Its analysts qualified 6,310 as falling under the legal definition, 40% more than last year's total, which exceeded 4,500. These figures only include still images, while videos are also on the rise.
Most of the images concern girls, aged between 7 and 13 for the majority. The IWF sees this as proof that binding regulation of AI is necessary: its head of public policy, Hannah Swirsky, supports parliamentarians who are calling for a law forcing companies to design models that cannot be diverted in this way.
This content is already illegal in the United Kingdom, but the government has not announced a specific bill for AI. The minister in charge of the sector, Kanishka Narayan, assures that "nothing is excluded", while setting as a criterion that a new law actually makes Britons safer.
Read the full article on the original source
Go to the source →