AI prey: why watchdogs are telling parents to protect children from nudification apps
✓The two photos started out as typical teenage selfies: looking into the mirror, fully clothed. But once online predators had got hold of those pictures and ran them through an AI imaging tool, they had become the basis for extreme pornography videos.
These examples come from the Report Remove service, which allows children who have had explicit pictures of themselves distributed without their consent to flag the image confidentially and have it blocked or taken down from social media. Due to breakthroughs in AI, and the wide availability of AI models and nudification apps, some under-18s are becoming victims without even being in contact with criminals.
These two victims show why the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a child safety watchdog, have issued guidance telling parents to consider limiting visibility of family pictures by, for instance, making your social media profile private and just sharing photos of your children on “close friends” groups.
Both organisations say they are not telling parents what to do but want them to be aware of the problem and what action to take. The data shows AI is an increasing source of child sexual abuse material. The amount of AI-generated child sexual abuse material [CSAM] found online rose by 14% last year, according to the IWF, which identified 8,029 AI-made images and videos of realistic CSAM in 2025.
Dan Sexton, the IWF’s chief technology officer, says he feels “very uncomfortable” about telling parents not to put pictures of their children on public display but feels he has no other option. There is not enough protection against this technology, he says.
The UK government is bringing in restrictions, such as making it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. It is also giving tech companies and child protection agencies the power to test whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child abuse images.
Sexton acknowledges the long-term solution cannot be banishing photos from public social media accounts. He wants legislation for AI models that requires them to be “safe by design”, a principle voiced by online safety campaigners who want social media platforms to be built responsibly with user wellbeing as a core aim. “People use the term safety by design but I am not seeing that here,” he says.
A government spokesperson said UK law was “clear” on the illegality of creating, possessing or distributing CSAM, including AI-generated content, and that such material must be proactively removed from tech platforms under the Online Safety Act.
The spokesperson added: “We will not hesitate to go further to keep children safe.”
Sexton says paedophiles are using a variety of AI tools in combination to create images and videos, including “open source” AI models that can be freely downloaded and adjusted by users.
The IWF says that already it is proving impossible to distinguish between real photos of child sexual abuse and AI-generated material. Such content is also illegal in the UK but it means authorities can struggle to distinguish between victims who are in real-life danger and deepfakes. AI videos can still be distinguished from reality by IWF analysts, says Sexton, but generally the only way to be sure is seeing if paedophiles are taking credit for specific images on the dark web.
“The only way we know is when we see the creators pointing out what they have created,” he says, adding that being able to discern AI from reality might be an ongoing struggle.
“It’s a problem that needs to be solved. But I don’t know if it can be solved to the level of accuracy that we need because the technology keeps on changing,” he says.
Lorna Sinclair, a child sexual abuse education manager at the NCA, says the agency’s new guidance is aimed at flagging a danger that many parents and carers do not know exists. Offenders are repeating an all too familiar trait of jumping on technological changes first.
“We are still learning about AI as a society and how it is used in every day life,” she says. “We are learning about the benefits but also about how this technology can be abused. The reality is that offenders will always be early adopters of technological advances.”
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · BBC ↗
Child safety organisations in the UK have identified a growing risk: widely available AI tools are being misused to generate explicit imagery of minors by processing photos taken from public social media accounts. The Internet Watch Foundation found an 8,029 AI-generated child sexual abuse images and videos in 2025, representing a 14% year-on-year increase. In response, the National Crime Agency and IWF have issued guidance recommending parents consider restricting who can view photos of their children online—for instance by making profiles private or sharing only with close circles. UK law already criminalizes the creation, possession and distribution of such material, whether AI-generated or real. Authorities acknowledge this guidance reflects a temporary measure; the longer-term solution requires AI systems to be designed with safety safeguards from inception. A particular challenge is that distinguishing AI-generated abuse imagery from real photographs is increasingly difficult, complicating investigations and victim identification.
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · BBC ↗
The two photos started out as typical teenage selfies: looking into the mirror, fully clothed. But once online predators had got hold of those pictures and ran them through an AI imaging tool, they had become the basis for extreme pornography videos.
These examples come from the Report Remove service, which allows children who have had explicit pictures of themselves distributed without their consent to flag the image confidentially and have it blocked or taken down from social media. Due to breakthroughs in AI, and the wide availability of AI models and nudification apps, some under-18s are becoming victims without even being in contact with criminals.
These two victims show why the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a child safety watchdog, have issued guidance telling parents to consider limiting visibility of family pictures by, for instance, making your social media profile private and just sharing photos of your children on “close friends” groups.
Both organisations say they are not telling parents what to do but want them to be aware of the problem and what action to take. The data shows AI is an increasing source of child sexual abuse material. The amount of AI-generated child sexual abuse material [CSAM] found online rose by 14% last year, according to the IWF, which identified 8,029 AI-made images and videos of realistic CSAM in 2025.
Dan Sexton, the IWF’s chief technology officer, says he feels “very uncomfortable” about telling parents not to put pictures of their children on public display but feels he has no other option. There is not enough protection against this technology, he says.
The UK government is bringing in restrictions, such as making it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. It is also giving tech companies and child protection agencies the power to test whether artificial intelligence tools can produce child abuse images.
Sexton acknowledges the long-term solution cannot be banishing photos from public social media accounts. He wants legislation for AI models that requires them to be “safe by design”, a principle voiced by online safety campaigners who want social media platforms to be built responsibly with user wellbeing as a core aim. “People use the term safety by design but I am not seeing that here,” he says.
A government spokesperson said UK law was “clear” on the illegality of creating, possessing or distributing CSAM, including AI-generated content, and that such material must be proactively removed from tech platforms under the Online Safety Act.
The spokesperson added: “We will not hesitate to go further to keep children safe.”
Sexton says paedophiles are using a variety of AI tools in combination to create images and videos, including “open source” AI models that can be freely downloaded and adjusted by users.
The IWF says that already it is proving impossible to distinguish between real photos of child sexual abuse and AI-generated material. Such content is also illegal in the UK but it means authorities can struggle to distinguish between victims who are in real-life danger and deepfakes. AI videos can still be distinguished from reality by IWF analysts, says Sexton, but generally the only way to be sure is seeing if paedophiles are taking credit for specific images on the dark web.
“The only way we know is when we see the creators pointing out what they have created,” he says, adding that being able to discern AI from reality might be an ongoing struggle.
“It’s a problem that needs to be solved. But I don’t know if it can be solved to the level of accuracy that we need because the technology keeps on changing,” he says.
Lorna Sinclair, a child sexual abuse education manager at the NCA, says the agency’s new guidance is aimed at flagging a danger that many parents and carers do not know exists. Offenders are repeating an all too familiar trait of jumping on technological changes first.
“We are still learning about AI as a society and how it is used in every day life,” she says. “We are learning about the benefits but also about how this technology can be abused. The reality is that offenders will always be early adopters of technological advances.”
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · BBC ↗
AI tools are being used to convert photos of clothed minors into explicit imagery The Internet Watch Foundation identified 8,029 AI-generated child sexual abuse images and videos in 2025 This represents a 14% increase from the previous year The UK's National Crime Agency and Internet Watch Foundation have issued guidance advising parents to restrict visibility of children's photos on social media UK law criminalizes creation, possession and distribution of AI-generated child sexual abuse material Authorities acknowledge they cannot adequately distinguish AI-generated abuse images from real photographs The UK government is introducing restrictions on AI tools designed to generate such material Child safety experts characterise the current guidance as a temporary measure while longer-term solutions are developed The lack of built-in safety measures in AI models is the root problem requiring legislative intervention
Read the full story at The Guardian ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · BBC ↗
- AI tools are being used to generate non-consensual sexual images of children by processing photos from social media
- UK child safety authorities (NCA, IWF) are advising parents to restrict public visibility of children's photos as a precautionary measure
- AI-generated child sexual abuse material increased 14% in 2025; authorities say distinguishing it from real abuse images is becoming impossible
- UK law criminalizes creation and distribution of AI-generated child abuse material; authorities argue AI models need built-in safety measures