AI videos of child sexual abuse surged to record highs in 2025, new report finds

Increased use of artificial intelligence tools has resulted in a significant rise in the creation of photo-realistic child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Analysts from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) documented a 26,362% surge, rising from 13 to 3,440 AI-produced videos of child sexual abuse in one year.
Over half of the AI videos tracked by IWF meet the description of the most graphic “category A” content, which can include extreme imagery and torture.
IWF warns the capabilities of AI tools threaten children, as their likenesses can be exploited by bad actors, and makes it easier for individuals with minimal technical knowledge to produce CSAM at scale.
The report comes amidst scrutiny of Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, which previously allowed users to generate sexually explicit images of women and minors, leading to an investigation by the California Attorney General.
U.S. federal law strictly prohibits the production and distribution of CSAM, which includes child pornography.

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