Parents across the UK are being strongly advised by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to refrain from publicly sharing images of their children online. This urgent warning comes in response to a significant surge in AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which increasingly exploits publicly available photographs.
The IWF revealed alarming figures, reporting that its analysts identified over 8,000 AI-generated images and videos depicting realistic child sexual abuse in 2025. This represents a 14% increase compared to the previous year, highlighting the escalating threat. Specifically, the number of AI-generated CSAM videos identified by the IWF soared from just 13 in 2024 to 3,440 in 2025, underscoring the rapid advancement and misuse of AI technologies.
In response to this growing danger, the NCA and IWF have jointly released new guidance for parents. The recommendations include reviewing privacy settings on social media platforms to limit visibility of posts, making accounts private, or creating 'close friends' groups for sharing images with trusted contacts. Parents are also encouraged to audit their existing social media content for identifying details, such as a child's face or school uniform, and to delete any images that could pose a risk. Furthermore, the guidance advises revisiting image consent with friends, family, and organisations like schools or clubs, ensuring clear understanding of how and where images of children are used.
This advisory builds upon years of warnings from child safety experts regarding the risks of 'sharenting' – the act of parents sharing images or videos of their children on social media. While previous concerns focused on issues like identity theft, fraud, or future privacy impingement, the advent of sophisticated AI tools capable of manipulating images, including creating the appearance of nudity, has introduced a far more sinister dimension to these risks.
The UK government has also taken steps to combat these threats, including banning so-called 'nudification' apps and adjusting legislation to help AI firms implement safeguards that prevent their systems from being used to generate CSAM. Tim Wright, a senior manager at the NCA, emphasised the critical role of prevention, stating, "While we and policing colleagues tackle offenders, prevention remains vital." Kerry Smith, head of the IWF, added, "These are not hypothetical threats, they are real," urging parents to make informed decisions about sharing their children's images online.