UK Government Proposes Laws Against AI-Generated Illegal Content
The UK government has introduced new laws to limit the growing threat of child sex abuse generated by AI. The legal regulation taken will be a part of the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill, and the UK will become the first among other countries to make it illegal to generate and possess or spread AI tools made for illegal purposes.
Key Provisions of Sex Abuse Laws
The new laws include four key provisions, which are:
- Child sexual abuse material (CSMA) AI Tools: The possession or use of AI software for creating CSAM will be criminalized, carrying a sentence of up to five years in prison.
- Manuals for Pedophiles: Guides on how to use AI for child sexual content
will also be banned, carrying penalties of up to three years in prison.
- Cracking down on websites: Making running websites that host CSAM or offering instructions on how to train online child abuse punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
- Digital Device Inspections at Border Control: This will include powers for the Border Force to examine the devices of those coming into the UK if they are suspected of having sexual abuse images or content, with a penalty of up to three years in prison.
The Sexual Risk of AI-Generated CSAM
AI-generated Child sex abuse material includes fully computer-generated images or those that have been manipulated to appear real.
AI can transform real images of children or switch faces to make them look like one thing when, in reality, it is another. In some scenarios, even the voices of children are digitally recreated to further victimize those who have been abused.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) estimated that more than 800 arrests were made monthly for online child exploitation, with 840,000 adults in the UK alone considered a potential threat to children. This shockingly high estimate suggests the increasing peril of AI technology in the area of child sex abuse.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has echoed that AI made child abuse much more industrial, and criminals exploited children on an industrial scale than ever before, adding that urgent adaptation of legal regulation is needed.
Experts Reactions and Concerns
Despite the saying of some experts that such news does not have huge impact, Prof Clare McGlynn, a legal expert in sexual violence and abuse online, called for tougher crackdowns on ”nudify” apps that manipulate images of children or put them into falsified abuse contexts.
Prof Clare calls for legal regulation against adult content involving actors who come across as apparently much younger in order to reduce normalization of this type of sex abuse.
According to Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reports, there is ”an explosion in AI-generated CSAM,” reporting 380% more cases in 2024 than compared to the same period the prior year.
According to Derek Ray-Hill, interim chief executive of IWF, and exponential increase in these AI contents simply encourages criminals to increase the harm toward children.
Moreover, Lynn Perry, the CEO of Children’s charity Barnardo, has called upon tech companies to apply serious regulations and enforce the Online Safety Act effectively.
Finally, the new legislation against children sexual abuse marks a huge and important step in limiting online child abuse.
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