AI-Generated Child Abuse Webpages Surge 400%, Alarming Watchdog

Reports of child sexual abuse imagery created using artificial intelligence tools have surged 400% in the first half of 2025 according to new data from the UK-based nonprofit Internet Watch Foundation.

The organization, which monitors child sexual abuse material online, recorded 210 webpages containing AI-generated material in the first six months of 2025, up from 42 in the same period the year before, according to a report published this week. On those pages were 1,286 videos, up from just two in 2024. The majority of this content was so realistic it had to be treated under UK law as if it were actual footage, the IWF said.