Key facts
- The UK government will introduce legislation to force Apple and Google to block explicit images on children's smartphones.
- This action follows failed negotiations with the tech companies over child protection measures.
- The proposed law aims to prevent under-18s from taking, sharing, or viewing nude images on their devices.
- Tech companies will be required to verify adult users' ages before allowing them to disable nudity-blocking features.
- The government intends for these protections to be built into devices and enabled by default.
The UK government has announced its intention to introduce legislation that will compel technology giants Apple and Google to implement measures blocking explicit images on children's smartphones. This decision comes after negotiations with the companies failed to achieve a breakthrough within a three-month deadline.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, stated in the House of Commons that while a deal with the tech companies is still possible, new legislation is "almost certain" to be required. She expressed frustration with the pace of progress, emphasizing the ongoing harm to children. The government's proposed protections would be integrated into device operating systems and activated by default, requiring adult age verification to disable. Further legislation may be needed to extend these restrictions to applications.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham indicated that the safeguards would be built into devices and switched on by default. The government aims to change the entire ecosystem to combat child abuse and grooming online. Sources familiar with the talks noted that while both sides desired a resolution, significant challenges, including privacy concerns, remained.
Jess Phillips, a Labour MP, highlighted that the legislation would help prevent the UK from generating self-generated child sexual abuse material, where children are coerced into sharing explicit images. She urged the government to ensure other countries follow suit to avoid the UK acting alone.
Hannah Swirsky of the Internet Watch Foundation welcomed the government's decisive legislative action, expressing disappointment that tech firms had not acted more fully on their own. The IWF reported that a quarter of the child sexual abuse material it recorded last year was self-generated.
Lukasz Olejnik, a cybersecurity and privacy expert, commented that client-side scanning, a likely method for such blocking, presents an infrastructure for scanning message content, calling it the "least evil approach." Privacy campaigners have also raised concerns that adults would need to verify their age to switch off these features.
Both Google and Apple have responded positively to the government's announcement. Google expressed commitment to working with legislators to keep children safe while protecting privacy. Apple stated it is strengthening its "communication safety" feature and plans further enhancements to protect children.