Internet Watch Foundation Urges Action Against Surge of AI-Generated Child Abuse Images

Growing Proliferation of AI-Generated Child Abuse Content Inundating Investigators, Perpetrators Using Tools to Create New Images of Prior Victims

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is urging governments and technology companies to quickly address the surge of AI-generated child abuse images before it becomes overwhelming for law enforcement.
In South Korea, a man was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for creating 360 virtual child abuse images using AI, marking a concerning trend of AI misuse.
AI-generated child abuse imagery is becoming increasingly lifelike, with analysts discovering a massive demand for creation of newer images of children who have been abused in the past.
The IWF report calls for strengthened laws to fight AI-generated abuse, particularly in the European Union where there is a debate concerning surveillance measures to scan messaging apps for potential child abuse images.
AI tools such as Stable Diffusion, preferred by perpetrators for creating child abuse images, have been identified to the issue, even though the developers have tried to block misuse by implementing new filters and usage restrictions.