London, Feb 1 (Reuters) - On Saturday, Britain announced plans to outlaw the use of artificial intelligence tools for generating child sexual abuse images, making it the first country globally to address these new AI sexual abuse crimes.
In England and Wales, it is illegal to possess, produce, display, or circulate explicit images of children. The newly proposed laws specifically target the utilization of AI tools to manipulate real-life images of children into a sexualized form.
Internet criminals are increasingly using AI to produce child abuse content, leading to a nearly five-fold increase in reported explicit images in 2024, as per the Internet Watch Foundation.
Yvette Cooper, Britain's Home Secretary, emphasized, "We are aware that online activities of dangerous predators often escalate to horrifying real-world abuses. Tackling online child sexual abuse is crucial to safeguarding the public from evolving crimes."
Predators exploit AI technology to conceal their identities, extort children with fabricated images, and coerce them into further exploitation, including live streaming of abuse, the government noted.
The new criminal laws encompass the possession, production, or dissemination of AI tools intended for generating child sexual abuse content, as well as possession of AI "pedophile guides" instructing on technology use.
Moreover, a specific offense will target operators of websites that distribute child abuse material, with authorities granted access to inspect digital devices. These legislative measures will be incorporated into the Crime and Policing Bill during its parliamentary review.
Earlier this month, Britain vowed to criminalize the production and sharing of sexually explicit content created with AI technology to appear authentic.