Home / Crime and Justice / OpenAI Child Exploitation Reports Surge 80x
OpenAI Child Exploitation Reports Surge 80x
22 Dec, 2025
Summary
- OpenAI reports 80x more child exploitation incidents to NCMEC in early 2025.
- Increased reports may reflect moderation changes, not just rising harm.
- Generative AI reports to NCMEC surged 1,325% between 2023 and 2024.
OpenAI reported an 80-fold increase in child exploitation incident reports submitted to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The company's submissions rose from 947 reports in early 2024 to over 75,000 in early 2025, aligning with increased user activity and new product features allowing image uploads.
Company representatives attribute the rise partly to investments in review capacity and the introduction of new product surfaces. However, NCMEC emphasizes that such increases can also signal adjustments in platform moderation practices or reporting thresholds, rather than solely an escalation of illicit activity. The total number of reported content pieces also saw a significant jump.
This trend mirrors broader observations at NCMEC's CyberTipline, where reports involving generative AI spiked by 1,325% between 2023 and 2024. While OpenAI and other AI firms provide NCMEC statistics, the exact AI-related percentage remains often unspecified, making direct comparisons challenging.
