A single photo of a child posted online can be exploited to create deepfake sexual abuse material, according to a new warning. UK investigators have urged parents to take precautions, saying related reports have surged over the past year.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) issued new protective guidance for parents, saying crimes that combine images of children with artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create sexual content are on the rise, the Guardian reported Tuesday.
The IWF identified 3,440 AI-generated child sexual abuse videos last year, a figure that jumped several hundredfold in a single year compared with 13 in 2024.
Childline, a child protection organization, received a report in which a child's face and bedroom photos were stolen and turned into fake nude images. The images were taken from photos routinely posted by a stranger and then synthesized.
The NCA and IWF pointed out that many parents fail to properly recognize that making their children's photos public online can lead to such crimes.
The agencies recommended setting social media accounts to private and sharing children's photos only within groups of family or close friends. They also advised that when institutions such as schools or sports clubs plan to post children's photos online, the decision on whether to publish should be discussed in advance.
Dan Sexton, chief technology officer at the IWF, said this is not an imaginary scenario but a crime that is actually happening. He stressed that parents should be more cautious about publishing photos, as there is no safeguard to prevent the further spread of an image once it has been posted online.
