Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase enforcement action against image-editing tools powered by AI that can be used to generate child sexual abuse images.

To ensure we keep pace with changes in technology, under the Crime and Policing Act, this Government has introduced a suite of new measures to keep children safe online by tackling the growing threat of AI Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). We have introduced a brand-new criminal offence criminalising AI Models which have been designed or adapted to produce child sexual abuse imagery. These optimised models produce hyper-realistic CSAM that often contains the likeness of real children and are not currently illegal in the UK. We are also criminalising paedophile manuals which provide instructions on how to use AI to create child sexual abuse material. This Government will continue to proactively review legislation, and we will not hesitate to legislate further to ensure the protection of children online.

It is crucial that police and law enforcement have the capabilities and skills to effectively tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. The Home Office continues to invest in a network of Undercover Online Officers (UCOLs) in Regional Organised Crime Units who deploy online to identify and pursue offenders seeking to sexually exploit children. Funding also supports both the National Crime Agency to use its unique capabilities to disrupt the highest harm offenders, and GCHQ’s aim to significantly reduce harm to children by addressing the volume and scope of online offending and helping to bring offenders to justice.

The Home Office, in collaboration with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Alan Turing Institute, and the Accelerated Capability Environment, has led the Deepfake Detection Challenge. Bringing together leading technology companies, such as Microsoft, academics and experts, the government is set to develop and implement a world-first deepfake detection evaluation framework, establishing consistent standards for assessing all types of detection tools and technologies to counter the generation of harmful content. This will help position the UK as a global leader in tackling harmful and deceptive deepfake content.