UK Children Report Surge in Explicit Deepfake Images of Themselves

Key points

• Report Remove, the UK's anonymous image-removal service for minors, has recorded a rapid increase in digitally manipulated or AI-generated explicit images involving children.
• AI-powered "nudification" tools, which digitally strip clothing from real photos to create fake naked images, are driving part of the rise.
• The UK's online safety watchdog says these tools have made producing this kind of content faster and cheaper than ever before.
• No specific enforcement action or new regulation has been announced alongside this warning.

Children across the UK are reporting that explicit fake images of themselves are appearing online, and the service designed to help them take those images down says the numbers are climbing quickly.

Report Remove is a free, anonymous tool run by the Internet Watch Foundation, a charity that works with online platforms to block child sexual abuse material. Young people use it to flag intimate images of themselves without having to identify themselves to police or strangers. The service has now told The Guardian that a growing share of the images it is handling have been digitally manipulated in some way, including through AI tools that generate fake images from scratch, or so-called nudification software that takes an ordinary clothed photo and produces a fake explicit version.

What exactly are these tools doing?

Nudification tools work by feeding a real photograph into an AI system, which then generates a new image designed to look like the same person without clothes. The result is not a real photograph. It is a fabricated image that can still cause serious distress and reputational harm to the person depicted.

This matters legally as well as personally. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, sharing intimate images without consent is a criminal offence in England and Wales, and the law covers digitally generated images as well as real ones. The Act's provisions on this point came into force in January 2024.

Should children and parents be worried?

Yes, and the concern is practical, not abstract. These tools are cheap, widely available, and require no technical skill. A classmate with a social media photo and a free app can produce a fake explicit image in minutes.

If a child believes images of them are circulating online, Report Remove allows them to flag the content anonymously and the Internet Watch Foundation will work with platforms to have it taken down. Young people do not need to involve parents or police to use it, though both remain options.

Parents can help by talking openly about this risk. Knowing it exists is the first step. Children should understand they are not at fault if an image appears, and that a removal route exists.

What are regulators doing about it?

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator overseeing the Online Safety Act, has noted that AI is lowering the cost and difficulty of producing sexualised content involving minors. No new rulemaking or enforcement trigger has been publicly announced in connection with this particular surge. The existing framework requires platforms to detect and remove child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated versions, under obligations that took effect in stages through 2024 and into 2025.

The policy picture is still developing. Watch this space.

Common questions

Can a fake image still be illegal even if it was never a real photo?

Yes. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, the law covers digitally created intimate images of real people, not only photographs taken in reality.

Where can a child report this without telling their parents?

Report Remove, run by the Internet Watch Foundation, is anonymous. A young person can use it without identifying themselves to any adult or authority.