TLDR: A critical national roundtable is set to take place at Parliament House in Canberra on July 17, 2025, to address the alarming surge in AI-facilitated child sexual exploitation. Hosted by ICMEC Australia, the forum will unite government, law enforcement, technology, and child protection leaders to develop strategies for protecting children, mitigating AI risks, and driving urgent policy and investment in AI safety solutions. This initiative comes amidst a staggering 1,325% increase in AI-generated child sexual exploitation material reports globally.
Canberra, ACT – On Thursday, July 17, 2025, senior leaders from across Australia’s government, law enforcement, technology, and child protection sectors will converge at Parliament House for a landmark national roundtable. The urgent forum aims to confront the escalating threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-facilitated child sexual exploitation, a crisis that has seen a dramatic increase in harmful content.
Hosted by ICMEC Australia, the roundtable is designed to foster collaborative strategies on how AI can be leveraged to protect children, address the technologies that pose significant risks, and accelerate policy reform and investment in robust AI safety solutions. This pivotal discussion builds upon ICMEC Australia’s SaferAI for Children’s Coalition’s 2024 discussion paper and 2025 call to action, positioning Australia to potentially lead global efforts in child protection and AI governance while promoting ‘Safety by Design’ within the industry.
The urgency of this roundtable is underscored by alarming new figures released by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Reports involving generative AI in child sexual exploitation material have surged by an astonishing 1,325%, climbing from 4,700 in 2023 to over 67,000 in 2024. This exponential growth highlights how AI is enabling new and insidious forms of child exploitation, including synthetic Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), deepfakes, automated grooming, and the creation of child-like AI personas.
Colm Gannon, CEO of ICMEC Australia, emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “This roundtable represents a pivotal moment for child protection in Australia. AI is being weaponised to harm children, and Australia must act swiftly to prevent these technologies from outpacing our systems of protection.” He further added, “If we act now, Australia can set a global benchmark for ethical AI and child protection.”
Sonya Ryan, CEO of The Carly Ryan Foundation, echoed these sentiments, asserting, “Children’s safety must be at the centre of how we think about and regulate AI in Australia. We welcome this urgent dialogue.” The national crisis is further compounded by existing statistics, with more than one in four Australians reporting having experienced sexual abuse in childhood, according to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMS).
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The forum will address the critical need for a unified approach to combat these evolving threats, ensuring that technological advancements do not come at the expense of child safety. The discussions are expected to pave the way for concrete actions and legislative frameworks to safeguard children in the digital age.
