UNICEF calls for criminalization of AI content depicting child sex abuse

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF on Wednesday called for countries to criminalize the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse content, saying it was alarmed by reports of an increase in the number of artificial intelligence images sexualizing children.



The agency also urged developers to implement safety-by-design approaches and guardrails to prevent misuse of AI models. It said digital companies should prevent the circulation of these images by strengthening content moderation with investment in detection technologies.



"The harm from deepfake abuse is real and urgent. Children cannot wait for the law to catch up," UNICEF said in a statement. Deepfakes are AI-generated images, videos, and audio that convincingly impersonate real people.



UNICEF also raised concerns about what it called the "nudification" of children, using AI to strip or alter clothing in photos to create fabricated nude or sexualized images.