NCMEC, tech experts, Crime Stoppers Houston discuss rise in A.I. generated child sexual abuse material

HOUSTON - Senators John Cornyn of Texas (R) and Andy Kim of New Jersey (D) Tuesday introduced a bill to combat AI-generated child sexual abuse material. They’re calling it the Proactive AI Data Act.

Big picture view:

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children spoke with FOX 26 about the issue and how legislation can help fix it

"Whether it’s the creation of imagery based on text prompts that they enter into these platforms and ask for an image to be created that depicts child exploitation, and we also see them asking some of these platforms or technologies on ways to be a better offender. Especially how do I isolate a child how do I groom a child," said Jennifer Newman, Executive Director, Exploited Children Division & Texas at NCMEC.

The presence of AI is growing rapidly, and as we know, with technology it can be used for good, but there are those who choose to use it for bad, including the exploitation of children. Newman says their office started seeing an increase in AI-generated CSAM back in 2023 when reports started coming into the cyber tip line. 

"In about a two-year period, we have 70,000 reports of generative AI that came into the U.S. I can tell you that there was a big explosion that goes year by year and there was a 1,300% increase between 2023 and 2024, and since then, into 2025, we’ve received over 400,000 reports related to generative AI," Newman said.

Newman also adds that companies are recognizing the issue. 

"Really, what we are seeing is better engagement of generative AI companies, so they are reaching out to us. They are being registered to the tip line, and we see good industry involvement in making those reports, so the higher numbers isn't necessarily a bad thing, it’s more of reports coming in," said Newman. "We are always working with industries and our tech partners to really talk to them about what we are seeing in our tip line reports, so they are aware in, and they can make those changes on the technical side to ensure their product is safe and not causing further harm.

Why you should care:

One tech expert explains how those images are being created

"A lot of platforms such as AI video-generating content or video-generating platforms based on AI are now using a lot of safeguard, to be able to block, that is, explicit, any kind of way," said Juan Guevara, tech expert "The reality of the matter is AI is trained first. So what AI is doing is using content that AI is done before and regenerates that content that has been done before. So this is very important because AI is not a creative tool. AI can only generate things based off of what AI has seen in the past. Now, the second question is, how is this AI content being trained, and that is where this is important, because if AI is not trained to generate these types of images, then the loophole or the content is secure." 

"AI companies will need to go back to the drawing board and verify where this training is taking place and make sure that that training doesn't occur, so AI doesn't have access to these images," Guevara added. 

Local perspective:

Crime Stoppers Houston CEO said the issue here locally is growing

"Crime Stoppers of Houston recognizes, with deep concern, the accelerating rise in AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), both nationally and here in the greater Houston area. Since local authorities made one of the regions first arrests involving AI-generated CSAM in mid-2024, similar cases, such as an FBI analyst in Cypress found with over 1,000 real and AI-generated CSAM images underscore how rapidly this threat is growing locally. At the national level, child safety experts report that the 2023 Cyber Tipline received nearly 4,700 reports of AI-generated images amid a broader surge to more than 36 million total CSAM reports. Crime Stoppers of Houston has been working diligently to research and utilize our expertise to create preventative education so we can continue to protect and safeguard our children," said Rania Mankarious, Crime Stoppers of Houston CEO.