British teens are increasingly reporting non-consensual sexual imagery

Hundreds of British under-18s have contacted the confidential Report Remove helpline after artificial intelligence (AI) and digitally manipulated non-consensual sexual images of themselves appeared online. The helpline, operated jointly by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and Childline, enables young people in the United Kingdom to report explicit content to facilitate its removal and blocking.

New data published on 10 August reveals that reports of suspected AI-generated or manipulated imagery made by children in the first six months of 2026 reached 420, surpassing the 397 total reports received throughout 2025.

A similar increase occurred among actioned reports that met the legal threshold for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). IWF analysts confirmed 268 actioned reports involving suspected faked imagery by the end of June 2026, exceeding the 221 cases recorded throughout 2025. Following the rise in cases, the IWF urged technology companies to evaluate and safeguard AI models before release to prevent misuse by criminals generating explicit child imagery.

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