UK To Force Apple and Google To Stop Kids Viewing Explicit Images: But There’s a Privacy Catch

Major technology companies face new UK legislation requiring them to introduce device-level protections to prevent children from taking, sharing or viewing nude images, after ministers warned that existing measures do not go far enough to protect children online.

Three-Month Deadline Faces Government Review

In June, Apple and Google were given three months to make progress on preventing children from taking, viewing or sharing nude images on their devices.

However, Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, told parliamentarians on Tuesday that, despite 'significant commitments' from both companies, existing plans 'do not meet the scale of this crisis'.

She noted that the government intends to introduce legislation 'as soon as they can', though she added that it might reconsider if the businesses build and roll out fixes ahead of schedule.

New Rules Would Target Apps and Devices

Alongside device-level protections for children, the government announced that its proposed legislation will also require apps to introduce similar protections to prevent children from accessing nude images.

Nandy explained that this step is intended to ensure the whole ecosystem changes to tackle the means by which children are most often abused or groomed online.

Apple and Google already have child-safety measures designed to limit children's exposure to nude images, yet Nandy told MPs that further progress is required.

Apple and Google Defend Their Child Safety Measures

An Apple representative highlighted that the company introduced its Communication Safety tool in 2021 to help protect minors from viewing or sharing photos and videos that may contain nudity, noting that they have 'continued to expand its capabilities' ever since.

Apple's current Communication Safety system can warn children, blur potentially sensitive content and provide safety resources rather than simply blocking all nude images.

The company also emphasised its support for the UK's goal of fighting digital exploitation and said it had updated British officials on upcoming upgrades to Communication Safety and related features to better protect young users.

A Google spokesperson told the BBC that the company is an 'industry leader in combating non-consensual intimate imagery and advancing child safety across our products', adding that it is pleased to have 'made progress' and remains dedicated to protecting children online.

Sextortion Fears Drive Calls for Action

Charities and advocacy groups fighting for stricter rules and device-level fixes praised the government's plans, noting the need to prevent minors from taking and swapping explicit photos, rather than simply preventing them from viewing such material.

The NSPCC warned that images created or stored on children's devices can be used in grooming, blackmail and other forms of digital exploitation.

British police leaders have previously stressed that stronger device-level controls over cameras and image-sharing features could help tackle sextortion, which involves grooming minors into sending intimate pictures and then blackmailing them.

NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood described the legislative plans as a 'necessary move' following the failure of tech firms to meet the three-month deadline, adding that 'children cannot face more delays, so the government must act swiftly and ensure these measures are enshrined in law at the earliest opportunity'.

Andy Burrows from the Molly Rose Foundation characterised the upcoming proposals as fundamental to their core mission, though he criticised the path to securing them as a 'needlessly long and torturous road'.

He further emphasised that ministers must now prove their genuine dedication to passing powerful, uncompromised legislation without any additional setbacks.

Child Protection Raises Privacy Concerns

Originally introduced under the government's strategy to combat violence against women and girls, the measures to block minors from capturing and circulating explicit photos have faced criticism over the pace of implementation, though the forthcoming legislation is designed to protect children and, according to the government, would not restrict adults' access to nude content on their devices.

Implementing the measures could require technology companies to establish whether a device or app user is a child or an adult, raising privacy concerns. Representatives from the Open Rights Group previously cautioned that this shift would force 'every adult through a digital ID checkpoint' and risk scanning private images by default, though authorities have firmly rejected claims that the policy constitutes mass surveillance.