AI deepfakes drive surge in online child abuse

08 October 2025 , 15:56

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AI deepfakes drive surge in online child abuse

Online child exploitation is escalating worldwide, with experts warning of a sharp increase in AI-generated sexual abuse material — including deepfakes that digitally insert children’s faces into explicit photos and videos.

Technology-facilitated child abuse is surging worldwide, with cases of AI-generated sexual abuse material — including deepfakes placing children’s faces onto explicit images — rising sharply, experts warned Tuesday. 

Reports to the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of such content jumped from 4,700 in 2023 to more than 67,000 in 2024, according to the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute. Nearly 15 million children have faced online sexual coercion or grooming, and about one in seven were targeted in the past year alone.

In Western Europe, nearly five million children — or one in 15 — have been sexually assaulted before turning 18, the report said.

James Smith

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