The UK proposes an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that would let “authorized testers” proactively assess AI models for their ability to generate CSAM
The UK government will allow tech firms and child safety charities to proactively test artificial intelligence tools …
BBCLiv McMahon
Context & Ripple Effects
The proposal extends a UK policy arc from platform-level CSAM removal obligations toward AI-specific controls. Earlier measures targeted AI tools designed for CSAM production; this adds a route to examine model behavior before harmful output is distributed.
If adopted, the amendment would give authorized tech firms and child-safety charities a clearer legal basis to probe whether AI models can generate CSAM.
Model providers and safety testers would need processes to define authorization, conduct controlled testing, and handle the resulting evidence safely.
Second-order effects
The proposal makes CSAM-generation resistance a more concrete evaluation requirement for developers serving the UK, alongside the country’s earlier ban on AI tools designed to produce CSAM.
Testing practices and documentation could become more important to providers’ safety and compliance posture, increasing demand for repeatable model-evaluation tooling.
Third-order effects
The UK is moving public-safety governance upstream: from requiring removal of illegal material to enabling scrutiny of a model’s harmful capabilities before deployment or misuse.
If this approach is adopted and reused for other high-risk capabilities, access to models and the legitimacy of safety testing may increasingly be governed through formal authorization rather than voluntary red-teaming alone.
The trend:AI safety policy is shifting toward operational, pre-deployment assurance for specific public-safety risks, backed by legal authority for independent testing.
🎥 AI and Online Safety Minister @KanishkaNarayan visited @NSPCC to hear about Childline's vital work supporting children facing harm and abuse. New laws will help experts test AI safely - stopping it from being misused to create child sexual abuse material. [video]
We are making impactful changes to law today. They will help stop child abuse at source, give the police more time to focus on crushing crime, and put children at the heart of our plans for a safer internet.
📢 Introducing tough new laws to stop AI being misused to create child sexual abuse material. We're empowering trusted organisations to test AI models safely - building in protections from the start. [image]
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