Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent findings of the Internet Watch Foundation about AI chatbots that enable users to simulate sexual scenarios with child avatars.

The Government is committed to tackling the atrocious harm of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children – regulated services must remove illegal content and prevent children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.

The government recognises the need to ensure our legislation keeps pace with changing technologies. The government has introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill which criminalises possessing, creating or distributing AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. We will not hesitate to strengthen the law further, where necessary, to protect children.