Children in the United Kingdom have reported a significant increase in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, prompting warnings from internet safety organizations about the growing threat posed by artificial intelligence tools.
The Report Remove service, which works to prevent intimate images from circulating online, documented 420 reports from minors regarding images they believed had been digitally manipulated or created using AI technology during the first half of this year. This figure has already surpassed the total of 397 reports received throughout 2025. The Internet Watch Foundation, which operates Report Remove in partnership with the NSPCC children’s charity, attributed the increase to the widespread availability and improving capabilities of AI image manipulation tools.
Authorities have expressed concern that the technology enables the creation of child sexual abuse material using authentic images of real children obtained from public sources online. According to the IWF, the majority of manipulated images reported to the service in recent years meet the threshold for classification as child sexual abuse material. Creating or distributing such AI-generated content is illegal in the UK, with government regulations prohibiting the adaptation of AI models for this purpose or their distribution to others.
Online safety experts have called for technology companies to implement stronger safeguards within their AI products to prevent the creation of explicit material. Some victims have also reported being targeted for sextortion schemes, in which perpetrators threaten to publicize manipulated images unless recipients provide payment or additional explicit images.
In response to the escalating threat, authorities including the National Crime Agency and IWF have issued guidance encouraging parents and guardians to limit the online visibility of children’s photographs, recommending private social media accounts and restricted sharing through close contact groups only. Schools have similarly been advised to remove identifiable images of students from their websites and social media presence.
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