AI Generated Harms to be Added to the Crime & Policing Bill & Inquiry Announced
Recent developments in Parliament signal a growing focus on AI-related online harms, with new protections added to the Crime and Policing Bill and a fresh APPG inquiry launched to examine how AI is affecting children’s online safety.
AI Generated Harms to be Added to the Crime & Policing Bill
On Wednesday 12 November, an amendment was added to the Crime and Policing Bill to fortify protections against AI generated child abuse images.
This amendment focuses on AI model safety testing, empowering developers to assess the efficacy of safeguards to prevent the generation or proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). In other words, organisations will be able to test the strength of their protections against CSAM. In addition, this proposal will allow organisations to check these models have protections against extreme pornography, and non-consensual intimate images.
Lord Hanson’s new Clause 631 is tabled alongside an insertion to Clause 84 which would withhold certain offences from prosecution if they take place during the course of technology testing, as set out by the Secretary of State.
The Government release pledges that this amendment reflects their commitment to “working hand-in-hand with AI developers, tech platforms, and child protection organisations” to pursue their ambition to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.
In this vein, the Government has committed to convening a group of experts in AI and child safety, who will be charged with designing the safeguards needed to “protect sensitive data, prevent any risk of illegal content being leaked, and support the well being of researchers involved”.
New Parliamentary Inquiry into AI Harms and Children’s Online Safety
In parallel to these legislative developments, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Children’s Online Safety has opened a new inquiry examining how artificial intelligence is shaping the risks young people face online, and the opportunities it creates to protect them. For context, the Internet Watch Foundation is the secretariat for this APPG.
The inquiry, “AI and Online Safety: Safeguarding Children’s Digital Futures”, aims to build a clearer picture of how AI is influencing children’s online experiences. While AI offers powerful tools for content moderation and safety innovation, parliamentarians are concerned that existing regulation, including the Online Safety Act, may not fully account for the scale or speed of AI-driven risks.
The APPG is therefore seeking evidence from industry, civil society, academics, and other experts on:
how AI may be amplifying or transforming existing online harms,
where the current regulatory framework may fall short, and
how AI can be used positively to strengthen children’s online safety.
The call for written evidence is open until 7 January 2025, with oral evidence sessions expected to follow from January 2026.
techUK will continue to monitor developments closely and keep members informed. Please do get in contact with Samiah.Anderson@techuk.org if you would like techUK to submit evidence on members behalf.
