The Dark Side of AI: Amount of Generated Criminal Content Grew by 40%

The uncontrolled proliferation of generative models has enabled cybercrime on an unprecedented scale. On October 5, 2026, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) published frightening statistics: in the first half of the year, the amount of identified AI-generated content violating the law (CSAM) grew by 40% compared to all of 2025.

This report is not a trigger for moral panic, but a foundation for strict regulatory measures. IWF data is becoming the primary argument for EU and US authorities to enact draconian laws. For the market, this signifies the inevitable end of the free open-source era. To force platforms to detect and remove synthetic criminal content, regulators will impose a mandatory digital watermarking architecture and mandatory KYC (Know Your Customer) verification for access to any powerful API. The unit economics of AI providers will soon collapse under the weight of moderation and legal compliance costs.

Source: IWF / The Guardian