MP Pushes to Criminalise Tools for AI-Generated Child Abuse Content

Kate Chaney’s bill seeks to criminalise the use, possession, and sharing of AI tools built to produce or train on child sexual abuse material.

A photo taken on Nov. 23, 2023, shows the logo of the ChatGPT application developed by U.S. artificial intelligence research organization OpenAI on a smartphone screen (L) and the letters AI on a laptop screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

Independent MP Kate Chaney has introduced a new bill to amend Australia’s Criminal Code Act 1995 and criminalise the use of artificial intelligence tools designed to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) Bill 2025 seeks to make it an offence to download, possess, or distribute AI technology specifically developed to produce CSAM or to scrape or collect data for training such tools.

“Right now, it’s possible to access and download these sickening technologies from websites, app stores and the dark web,” Chaney told Parliament on July 28.

While the possession of child abuse images is already a criminal offence, Chaney said there is a clear legal blind spot surrounding the emerging AI tools that generate such material.

“This bill plugs an urgent and alarming hole in our laws,” she said.

These programs allow users to create on-demand abuse images—often tailored to specific preferences—and delete them before they are detected by authorities.

“Every AI abuse image starts with photos of a real child,” she said.

“These tools allow perpetrators to generate images, including with the image or details of a particular child, then delete them before detection—meaning they can continually evade possession laws.”

She cited alarming findings from intelligence firm Graphika, which in late 2023 reported over 24 million unique visits to websites hosting such generative tools, with access links proliferating across platforms like Reddit, X, and Telegram (pdf).

Filling Gaps While Broader AI Regulation Lags

Chaney acknowledged the wider regulatory challenges posed by AI, but said urgent risks like AI-generated CSAM demand immediate legislative action.

“We absolutely do need to take a holistic approach to regulating AI,” she said.

“But we also need to be able to nimbly respond to risks as they emerge. And this is one of them.”

She criticised the pace of government action, citing ongoing consultations and a lack of legislative follow-through.

“There are a lot of reports and consultations being done while the technology rapidly evolves,” she warned.

The bill was seconded by independent MP Zali Steggall.

Discussions to Continue

Debate was adjourned and is scheduled to resume during the next parliamentary sitting.

Chaney urged the government to act swiftly, arguing the bill fits within existing criminal law structures and addresses an immediate threat.

“There is no good reason for the existence of these AI tools,” she said. “Plenty of good reasons they should not be downloaded by Australians.”