AI-generated child sexual abuse material surges in Australia
Generative AI tools designed to create child sexual abuse material are being traded and profited from online, with the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children reporting a 1,325 per cent spike in AI-generated CSAM reports in 2024. Australian child safety advocates and government officials are meeting to discuss criminalising possession of such tools and updating child protection policies to address AI-enabled exploitation.
What happened
The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children reported a 1,325 per cent spike in reports involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material in a year, receiving more than 67,000 such reports in 2024.
According to the ICMEC chief executive Colm Gannon, active trading and profiteering from these AI models occurs within child sexual offender communities using pay-as-you-use designs, with no social-positive reason for possession of such software except to generate child sexual abuse material.
Reported impact
Child sexual abuse material generated by AI is being created and distributed at scale online, with offenders able to download tools to generate abuse material offline where detection is harder.
Law enforcement officials warn that without rapid identification of victims, content gets buried in a landslide of new material, making investigation and victim protection increasingly difficult.
Index analysis
Intelligence company Graphika reported in late 2023 that non-consensual explicit generative AI tools had moved from niche internet forums into a scaled, online and monetised business, with more than 24 million unique visits to relevant websites.
Child safety advocates including former Australian of the Year Grace Tame identified that Australia's 10-year government child protection plan released in 2021 did not address AI-related harms and needs updating to capture new technology.
Governance controls
Child safety advocates called for explicit criminalisation of the possession and distribution of custom-built AI tools designed to produce child sexual abuse material, following similar legislation introduced in the United Kingdom.
A parliamentary round table convened at Parliament House to address the rise of AI being used to sexually exploit children and discuss opportunities to use AI to detect grooming behaviour and child sexual abuse material.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.