Children in the UK are grappling with a disturbing rise in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as highlighted by the Report Remove service. This anonymous reporting platform has documented an alarming increase in cases where children are finding digitally manipulated or “faked” images of themselves online. According to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which manages the service alongside the NSPCC, the proliferation of AI tools is making it easier than ever to create such harmful content.
Disturbing Trends in Digital Safety
In the first half of this year alone, Report Remove has recorded 420 reports from children who believe their images have been altered to appear explicit. This figure surpasses the total number of reports made throughout 2025, which stood at 397. The sharp increase indicates a growing trend that raises serious concerns about the safety and privacy of minors in the digital space.
Dan Sexton, the IWF’s chief technology officer, emphasised the gravity of the situation. “If someone can take a benign image of a child from the internet and create child sexual abuse material with it, there is nothing that child can do to stop it from happening apart from preventing anyone from taking pictures of them—or not putting pictures of themselves online,” he explained. This alarming reality underscores the challenges of safeguarding children in an age where AI technologies are widely accessible.
The Role of AI in Image Manipulation
The surge in reports has prompted Report Remove to incorporate a new checkbox on its submission form, specifically designed for children to flag deepfaked content. Sexton further reiterated concerns regarding the growing capabilities of AI, warning that the technology’s advancement could facilitate the creation of harmful materials featuring real children. “This is one of the harms we were worried about when we first saw AI image generators being used,” he said.
The IWF’s monitoring efforts indicate that many manipulated images reported in 2025 and 2026 have crossed the threshold to be classified as child sexual abuse material (CSAM). It is crucial to note that AI-generated CSAM is illegal in the UK, and the government has enacted laws to prohibit the adaptation of AI models for producing such content or distributing them to others.
Calls for Stronger Protections
Rani Govender, an online safety expert from the NSPCC, urged technology companies to enhance safety measures within their AI products. “This rise in children reaching out because fake or AI-generated sexual images have been created of them is alarming but also sadly predictable,” she stated. “Tech companies cannot keep pushing out AI products without embedding strong protections that prevent this material from being created in the first place.”
Additionally, some victims who have contacted Report Remove have reported being targeted for sextortion, where blackmailers threaten to release manipulated images unless they receive financial compensation or more explicit content from the victim.
The Report Remove service allows children to anonymously report intimate images or videos of themselves that have been shared maliciously. By converting these images into a digital fingerprint known as a “hash,” the service collaborates with major tech platforms to remove or prevent the upload of the flagged content.
Advice for Parents and Guardians
In response to the rising threat of AI-generated deepfakes, the National Crime Agency and the IWF have issued guidance urging parents and guardians to protect their children’s images online. They recommend keeping social media accounts private and sharing pictures within a limited circle of close friends. This guidance is critical, especially in light of recent incidents where cybercriminals scraped pictures of children to create CSAM and subsequently blackmailed schools with threats of exposure.
Schools are also advised to remove identifiable images of students from their websites and social media accounts, as the risk of exploitation continues to escalate.
Why it Matters
The alarming rise in deepfake reports involving children highlights a pressing need for stronger online protections and stricter regulations surrounding AI technologies. As digital manipulation becomes more sophisticated, the vulnerability of young individuals increases, necessitating immediate action from tech companies, lawmakers, and society as a whole. Ensuring the safety of our children online must be a top priority, as the consequences of inaction could have lasting effects on their well-being and privacy in an increasingly digital world.
