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AI tools to create child abuse material for a crime |
It
has been made illegal to use artificial intelligence to create images of the
illicit sexual exploitation of children, it said on Saturday, becoming the
first country in the world to introduce an AI-powered rape driver.
It
is a crime to take, display, or distribute images of children in England and
Wales and this new offense targets the real-life significance of this.
The
move by the Internet Watch Foundation comes as online criminals are using AI to
create child abuse content. According to the Internet Watch Foundation, reports
of explicit images increased nearly fivefold in 2024, which was a huge
increase.
UK
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "We know that the online activities of
all these sick beggars often create the most personal abuse. We must tackle
child sexual exploitation online and offline so that we can better protect the
public from crime by disciplining them."
The
government further said that predators use AI tools to hide their identities and
blackmail children through jelly images, forcing them to commit further abuses
such as broadcasting live images and introducing new forms of crime.
New criminal offenses include the creation or distribution of child-friendly AI tools and possession of so-called AI file manuals that provide instructions on the use of the technology.
The
government said another specific offense is targeting people who run websites
that distribute child sexual abuse material, which will enable governments to
disable digital allotments for inspection purposes.
These
measures will be included in the Crime and Police Bill when it comes to
Parliament.
The
UK government added that earlier this month it would also make it illegal to
create and share sexually explicit tapes, videos, images, or audio clips that
have been created with AI so that they appear to be real and in a criminal.