Britain becomes first in the world to criminalize the creation of AI content containing child sexual abuse
Britain plans to criminalize the use of artificial intelligence tools that create images of child sexual abuse.
Britain plans to criminalize the use of artificial intelligence tools that create images of child sexual abuse.
Thus, the country will become the first in the world to introduce the definition of new crimes of sexual violence using AI.
«The possession, production, display or distribution of explicit images of children is a crime in England and Wales. The new criminal classification targets the use of artificial intelligence tools to 'expose' real-life images of children,» the Reuters article notes .
This move comes against the backdrop of the fact that the amount of such content about child abuse using AI in 2024, according to the Internet Watch Foundation, increased almost fivefold.
«It is vital that we tackle child sexual abuse both online and offline so that we can better protect the public from new and emerging crimes,» said UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
The British government is introducing criminal penalties to combat cases where criminals use artificial intelligence tools to hide their identities and blackmail children with fake images, forcing them to engage in further unacceptable actions, such as live broadcasts.
The new criminal offenses include possession, creation, or distribution of artificial intelligence tools designed to create child sexual abuse material, as well as possession of instructions for using the technology.
Another specific offense concerns those who operate websites that distribute child sexual abuse content.
All these measures will be included in the relevant bill, which is to be submitted to parliament.
Earlier this month, Britain said it would also make it a criminal offence to create and distribute explicit sexual deepfakes.
At the same time, these actions do not mean that the British government is generally hostile to AI tools — this is not the case. For example, a set of tools based on the artificial intelligence Humphrey was created for British government officials — that was the name of the main character of the British sitcom «Yes, Minister», who was a cunning parliamentary official.
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