AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse are flooding the web
What's the story
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a UK-based organization that monitors and works to remove illegal content online, has made a startling discovery. It has reported an alarming 260-fold increase in AI-generated child sexual abuse videos over the past year. The data highlights growing concerns over the accessibility and power of generative AI tools in the wrong hands.
Easing access
Traditional v/s AI-generated content
The IWF's report also flagged 8,029 realistic depictions of child sexual abuse in 2025, a 14% year-on-year rise. While such content has long been available online, the report notes a worrying change in its production. Offenders are now using AI to create more convincing and extreme content with little technical expertise, making it easier for them to produce and distribute harmful material at scale.
Escalation
AI amplifying the intensity of illegal material
The IWF's report also highlights the severity of content being generated. Of the more than 3,000 AI-generated videos verified by analysts, roughly 65% fell into the most serious legal category under UK law. This includes depictions involving rape, sexual torture, and other forms of extreme abuse. The data suggests that not only is AI increasing the quantity of illegal material but may also be amplifying its intensity.
Dark web
Offenders are now competing to create more graphic material
The IWF's report also highlights activity on the hidden online networks where individuals are discussing ways to exploit AI tools. In certain cases, conversations included methods of sourcing real footage and then transforming it using AI into more extreme or manipulated content. There are also indications of competition among offenders to create increasingly graphic material.
Oversight
Need for stronger oversight of AI technologies
The rise in AI-generated abuse material is intensifying calls for more oversight of AI technologies. Governments and regulators are now facing growing pressure to update legal frameworks to address the misuse of tools that are still largely unregulated. The issue gained wider attention earlier this year, when xAI's Grok chatbot was found generating inappropriate and sexualized pictures, including those involving minors, which were subsequently shared online.