Overview
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly challenged Apple, Google and other major tech firms on Monday to add device-level nudity detection and age checks within three months or face laws that could include fines and possible criminal liability for executives.
- The government wants software that prevents children from taking, sending or viewing sexually explicit photos on phones and tablets while allowing adults access only after a formal age-verification process.
- Officials acknowledge gaps in current company measures — for example Apple’s UK age checks do not apply to device cameras or many third-party encrypted apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and Discord — and experts warn end-to-end encryption makes detection technically hard.
- Supporters including policing and child-safety bodies say the plan targets coercion, sextortion and the circulating of self-generated images, while civil liberties groups warn the proposals risk intrusive surveillance and privacy trade-offs.
- The push follows a national consultation and IWF data cited by ministers showing most online child sexual abuse reports involve self-generated content, and it follows international moves such as Australia’s under-16 restrictions introduced in December 2025.