Nation States are ‘Weaponising AI and Social Media to Target UK Children’ in 'Sophisticated' Attacks

September 2025, Tom Pepper, Partner

Published on: LBC

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Nation states are increasingly using social media to target British children, exploiting personal data and artificial intelligence to influence and manipulate young users, LBC can reveal.

Tom Pepper, Partner at Avella Security and Security Lead at the UK Government’s AI Security Institute, said the tactics represent a growing national security risk and go far beyond traditional online threats.

“Nation states are increasingly turning to social media as a tool to reach UK children, and this sits firmly within the wider landscape of cyber security threats,” Mr Pepper said.

“Social platforms collect vast amounts of personal data, and that information is highly valuable to foreign actors. By combining this data with AI, hostile groups can build detailed profiles of young users, tailoring content that exploits individual vulnerabilities in a way that traditional cyber operations could never achieve.”

Mr Pepper warned that adversaries are creating networks of fake accounts, bots and chatbots enhanced by AI-generated images, videos and voices, making them almost impossible to distinguish from real peers.

“The tactics are sophisticated,” he explained. “Once trust is established, children can be manipulated into oversharing personal details, downloading malicious apps, or spreading divisive content. In effect, what looks like harmless online interaction can double as reconnaissance and influence activity on a national scale.”

He said the long-term objective is not just to steal data, but to shape how young people think, undermine trust, and weaken the UK’s resilience.

From a cyber security perspective, Mr Pepper described this as “a blending of classic techniques like social engineering with cutting-edge AI.” The digital footprints created, he added, could be exploited for years to come.

Mr Pepper called for stronger measures from social platforms, saying the threat must be treated as a security issue rather than a matter of parental controls.

“Platforms must provide greater transparency and detection of state-linked activity.

At the same time, children should be taught the fundamentals of online security and how algorithms influence what they see. Without that awareness, technology remains tilted in favour of the attacker.”