By Mariefaye (Efthimia) Bechrakis, Esq.

Introduction

Generative AI is often praised for its many transformative benefits across various fields, including that of law and human rights. The dual -use nature of the technology, however, has produced urgent harms, most notably the rapid rise of AI-generated synthetic child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Reports of AI generated images sexualizing children skyrocketed from roughly 4,700 in 2023 to 440,000 in the first half of 2025, while confirmed illegal AI-generated videos jumped from just two to over 1,200 in the same period. According to UNICEF, at least 1.2 million children across 11 countries disclosed having their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year.