Cyber Safety Case Studies: Story:AI becoming ‘child sexual abuse machine’ adding to ‘dangerous’ record levels of online abuse, IWF warns Source: Internet Watch Foundation

Introduction to the Case Study Collection

Part of The Cyber Trust Family Internet Monitoring Project

NEW: FAMILY MONITORING PROJECT VIDEOS

The Cyber Trust has released three videos in a series covering different products that families can use to monitor activity. To access them visit that Trust's Youtube Channel here.

This collection of case studies explores real-world news stories highlighting how children and young people can be placed at risk through their online activities.

The collection is drawn from real cases investigated by the Cyber Choices team at the National Crime Agency and stories reported in the press.

All of these cases could have been prevented had parents been able to monitor their child's online activity and intervene.

Story:AI becoming ‘child sexual abuse machine’ adding to ‘dangerous’ record levels of online abuse, IWF warns

New data from the IWF raises serious concerns about AI. They start their report with this unnerving statement;

"AI tools will become “child sexual abuse machines” without urgent action, as “extreme” AI videos fuel record levels of child sexual abuse material found online by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)."

The data, published on January 16 shows 2025 was the worst year on record for online child sexual abuse material found by its analysts, with increasing levels of photo-realistic AI material contributing to the “dangerous” levels.

The UK government, along with other governments, are undertaking urgent discussions with law enforcement, the tech industry and AI specilists to determne what can be done. The platform 'X' (Formerly Twitter) has already fallen foul of regulators when it was discovered that its AI tools were being used to remove clothing from children allowing them to be publsihed online.

Read the full report here.