Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to legislate to criminalise AI chatbots that simulate the sexual abuse of children, including through text-based role-play.

Policy measures to be implemented through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 will prevent under-18s from using sexualised AI chatbots and restrict their access to sexual features on AI chatbots.

In addition, the Crime and Policing Act 2026, provides a new regulation-making power enabling the Government to bring currently unregulated AI chatbots into scope of the Online Safety Act, subjecting providers to requirements to protect users from illegal content and activity.

This will enable Ofcom to use its enforcement powers to ensure these services are held to account. Ofcom have the Government's full backing to use all the enforcement levers at their disposal.