IWF counts more AI-generated child abuse imagery in the first half of 2026 than in all of 2025

The Internet Watch Foundation says it identified 6,310 AI-generated child sexual abuse images in the first six months of 2026, compared with 4,512 across the whole of 2025, a 40% increase, and is urging the EU to finalize its Child Sexual Abuse Regulation with detection of previously unseen material rather than only hash-matched content. The figures will feed pressure in Brussels and London on image-model providers and on open-weight image releases, so teams shipping generative image features should expect tighter safety and reporting requirements.