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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Dan Milmo Global technology editor

Internet Watch Foundation reports huge rise in AI child sexual abuse material

Sexual Abuse IWF Internet United Kingdom
IWF sign with a globe logo sits atop the Internet Watch Foundation's office building
The UK-based IWF has assessed 6,310 AI images that met legal definition of child sexual abuse this year, compared with about 4,500 in all of 2025. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

AI-generated child sexual abuse material is proliferating online, with the amount of illegal material investigated this year already exceeding the total for 2025.

Analysts at the Internet Watch Foundation have found more photorealistic child sexual abuse material in the first half of 2026 than for the whole of the prior year. The UK-based IWF, which monitors abuse material globally, said it had assessed 6,310 AI images that met the legal definition of child sexual abuse, 40% higher than last year’s total of more than 4,500.

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