Content note: this piece discusses child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in the context of online safety guidance. We’ve kept it practical and non-graphic, because that’s genuinely the most useful way to cover it.
New guidance from the National Crime Agency and the Internet Watch Foundation has landed with a fairly blunt message for parents: think carefully before posting photos of your children publicly online. The reason is the rise of AI tools capable of turning ordinary, fully clothed photos into convincing fake sexual abuse imagery – so-called “nudification” – without ever needing to contact a child directly.
It’s a hard thing to read as a parent. It’s an even harder thing to read as a new parent, when your camera roll is basically a shrine to a baby who didn’t exist eight months ago, and sharing that feels like one of the purest joys of the whole experience.
So here’s what the guidance actually says, and what it means for you.
What’s changed
AI-generated CSAM has grown sharply in recent years. The Internet Watch Foundation’s own reporting shows the number of confirmed AI-generated abuse images and videos rising into the thousands over the past year, a significant jump from a handful just two years earlier. Crucially, this material is treated under UK law exactly the same as real abuse imagery, and the National Crime Agency has said most parents simply have no idea this is even possible, let alone something they need to think about.
The guidance isn’t telling anyone to stop sharing their kids. It’s asking parents to be a bit more deliberate about how:
- Set social accounts to private, or share children’s photos through a “close friends” list rather than publicly
- Go back through old posts and think about whether they’re still comfortable with them being visible
- Check whether other family members have posted photos of your child that you might want taken down
- Revisit photo consent forms from nursery, school or clubs, many were signed before anyone was thinking about AI at all
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Does this apply to baby photos specifically?
Yes. It’s tempting to assume this is really about older kids in school photos or sports kit. However, new parents are, if anything, in a higher-sharing category than almost anyone: birth announcements, hospital photos, “bump to baby” posts, often shared with a full name, date of birth, and sometimes even the hospital attached. That’s a lot of identifying detail attached to a very young child, publicly, from day one.
The guidance doesn’t set an age floor. A photo of your six-week-old is covered by exactly the same advice as a photo of your six-year-old.
Practical advice
Nobody needs to stop celebrating their baby online. A few small habits go a long way:
- Default to private, or close friends only, for anything featuring your baby’s face
- Think twice about identifying details in public posts: full name, date of birth, and location together is more than any of those alone
- Don’t feel awkward asking family to take something down if you change your mind, the guidance specifically encourages having that conversation calmly, and it’s a completely reasonable one to have
- Revisit nursery and school consent forms as your child grows, since your comfort with them may change even if the form doesn’t
If you ever want a photo removed from a website or platform, you’re entitled to ask. That’s the case whether it’s a stranger’s account or your own family group chat gone slightly too public.
None of this is about fear. It’s about the same instinct that runs through everything else in early parenthood: you don’t need to know everything on day one, you just need to know enough to make a choice that feels right for you – family and to know you’re allowed to change your mind later.
Images: Supplied
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