The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has shared that it identified more AI-generated child sexual abuse images in the first six months of 2026 than during the whole of last year, and called on the European Union to strengthen legislation aimed at tackling the spread of the material online.
The organisation said its analysts assessed 6,310 AI-generated images that met the legal definition of child sexual abuse between January and June 2026. This compares with 4,512 images identified during the whole of 2025, representing a 40 per cent increase.
The IWF said the figures highlight how advances in AI are making it easier to create and distribute illegal content at scale.
Girls accounted for 98 per cent of the AI-generated images where analysts were able to identify both age and gender. The number of unique images depicting girls increased from 4,259 during 2025 to 6,094 in the first half of this year.
The charity also reported an increase in images depicting younger children. Analysts identified 2,534 images involving children aged between seven and 10, 2,369 involving children aged 11 to 13, 1,004 involving children aged three to six, and 190 depicting infants and toddlers under the age of two.
Children aged between seven and 13 featured in 79 per cent of the AI-generated images identified during the first six months of 2026, up from 70 per cent across the whole of 2025.
The IWF said AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery can cause significant harm, particularly when offenders manipulate genuine images of victims to create new abuse material.
To help limit the spread of this content, the organisation converts confirmed illegal images into digital fingerprints, known as hashes, which technology companies and law enforcement agencies can use to identify and block known child sexual abuse material.
However, the IWF warned that hash matching can only detect images that have already been identified, leaving newly created AI-generated content undetected until analysts discover it.
The IWF urged EU policymakers to agree on the proposed Child Sexual Abuse Regulation, arguing that it would provide technology companies with greater legal certainty to detect and remove both known and previously unseen child sexual abuse material.
Kerry Smith, chief executive of the IWF, said it is deeply concerning to see how quickly AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery continues to grow and spread online and Europe needs comprehensive regulation that gives platforms the legal certainty to detect, prevent and respond to child sexual abuse content.
“At a time when technology is making it easier than ever to create and distribute abusive images and videos at scale, Europe cannot afford to delay. The EU has already shown its resolve by strengthening criminal laws to tackle AI child sexual abuse through the recent Child Sexual Abuse Directive,” she added.
“The regulation is a real opportunity to further strengthen online protections for children and allow tech companies to use proportionate tools to tackle the spread of the evolving threat. Without it, efforts to prevent abuse are weakened and children are less safe online.”
