The number of online videos of child sexual abuse generated by artificial intelligence has skyrocketed as pedophiles have been hit by technology development.
The Internet Watch Foundation said that AI abuse videos have “beyond the threshold” that they can almost measure “actual images,” and that they have increased significantly online this year.
For the first six months of 2025, the UK-based Internet Safety Watchdog has examined 1,286 AI-maid videos with law-breaking child sex abuse material (CSAM) compared to two at the same time last year.
The IWF said that over 1,000 videos feature Category A abuse. This is the most stringent type of material classification.
The organization said its multibillion dollar investment in AI is producing a widely available video generation model that is being manipulated by pedophiles.
“It's a very competitive industry. There's a lot of money in it, so unfortunately, the perpetrators have a lot of options,” said an IWF analyst.
The video was discovered as part of a 400% increase in URLs that were created by AI in the first six months of 2025, characterized by child sexual abuse. IWF received reports of 210 such URLs compared to 42 last year.
IWF saw one post on the Dark Web Forum. There, he mentioned the speed of AI improvements, and how pedophiles mastered one AI tool to “better to interact with new things.”
IWF analysts said the images appear to have been created by taking free-to-use basic AI models and “fine-tuning” them in CSAM to create realistic videos. In some cases, these models were fine-tuned with a small number of CSAM videos, IWF said.
The most realistic AI abuse videos seen this year were based on real victims, Watchdog said.
Derek Ray-Hill, interim CEO of IWF, said the growth of the capabilities of AI models, wide availability, and the ability to adapt them to criminal purposes could lead to an online explosion of AI-made CSAM.
“There is an astonishing risk of AI-generated CSAM, leading to an absolute explosion that overwhelms the clear web,” he said, adding that the growth of such content could promote criminal activity related to child trafficking, child sexual abuse and modern slavery.
The use of existing victims of sexual abuse in AI-generated images meant that pedophiles were significantly expanding the amount of CSAM online without resorting to new victims, he added.
The UK government is cracking down on AI-generated CSAM by making it illegal to own, create or distribute AI tools designed to create abused content. Those found to have violated the new law will face up to five years of prison.
The minister also prohibits possession of manuals that teach potential offenders how to use AI tools to create abusive images or help them abuse their children. Offenders can face up to three years in prison.
Announced the February change, Interior Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “It's important to tackle child sexual abuse online, not just offline.
AI-generated CSAM is illegal under the Protection Act of 1978 and criminalizes the shooting, distribution and possession of “indecent or false photos” of children.
