Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to introduce statutory safeguards to help prevent AI chatbots from being used to simulate sexual (a) activity and (b) scenarios involving children.

The government is committed to tackling the atrocious harm of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children – regulated services must remove illegal content and prevent children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.

The government has introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill which criminalises possessing, creating or distributing AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. We are committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring. When it comes to keeping children safe online, we will not hesitate to act.