After intense and sustained advocacy by child rights organisations, the European Union agreed last week to ban AI systems that can nudify or are capable of generating child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The agreement marks an important milestone in recognising the harms posed by AI systems that can generate sexual content, particularly for children and young people.
The Growing Threat of AI-Generated Sexual Abuse Content
Nudifying tools are AI systems whose main purpose is to generate nude images from clothed photos. Increasingly, these tools are being misused to create child sexual abuse material, either by generating synthetic content or by manipulating existing images of children and survivors of child sexual abuse. A 2025 study by UNICEF, ECPAT & INTERPOL across 11 countries estimated that 1 in 25 children disclosed that their images had been manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes. To put it into context, this is equivalent to one child in a typical classroom.
Concerningly, generative AI tools whose primary purpose is NOT to create nude images are also increasingly being used to exploit children, as shown when the Grok chatbot generated around 23,000 CSAM images in just 11 days. These tools are frequently misused to create deepfakes of children and young people, driving exploitation and extortion.
To address this growing threat, we joined forces with INHOPE, the Internet Watch Foundation, NCMEC, Offlimits, Safe Online, and We Protect Global Alliance, to call for a global ban on nudifying apps and stronger accountability for tech companies to implement safety-by-design measures in AI systems.
From Advocacy to EU Action
The proposal for the AI Omnibus created a key opportunity to advance this work at EU level. Negotiated between February and May 2026, the AI Omnibus aimed to simplify aspects of the AI Act and reduce administrative burden for technology providers. At the same time, it opened the possibility of adding new provisions to the list of prohibited AI systems under Article 5.
In response, the policy team at Child Helpline International quickly mobilised to operationalise the campaign within the EU policy space. Through meetings and exchanges with EU decision-makers, we amplified the experiences and concerns raised by children, young people and survivors, calling for a legal ban on these harmful AI systems.
Now, the European Parliament and Council of the EU have agreed to prohibit AI systems capable of generating nudified images or CSAM, including systems not specifically designed for this purpose but which fail to implement sufficient safeguards to prevent such misuse.
The Work Does Not End Here
Some say it takes a village to raise a child. This case demonstrates the impact that collective advocacy, combined with brave policymaking, can have in strengthening protections for children and young people online. This first step is critical but represents only half of the work. As harmful AI systems continue to evolve rapidly, effective implementation and enforcement will be critical in the years ahead.
As a global network of child helplines, Child Helpline International will continue advocating for stronger protections and for the adoption of bans on nudifying functionalities globally. Because all children deserve to grow up in a digital world free from abuse and exploitation.
Senior EU Policy Officer for Tech Policy,
Child Helpline International
