UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells major technology firms, including Apple and Google, to introduce protections aimed at stopping children from taking, sending, receiving, or viewing sexually explicit images on phones and other devices. Multiple reports say Starmer expects to announce a ban affecting children under 16’s access to some “high-risk” social media platforms, alongside device-level measures. According to the coverage, companies are expected to activate built-in or device features that restrict access to nude or sexual content for children. Experts cited in one report warn that implementing effective controls may be difficult, even if the requirement is described as a “vice” or parental-style control approach. Several outlets report that Starmer sets a timeline for voluntary compliance and that legislation could follow if firms do not act, with potential enforcement measures such as fines and increased accountability for senior managers. One summary also describes the approach as intended to reduce opportunities for exploitation and prevent children from accessing pornography, while adults who verify their age could remain able to take, share, or view nude content. The proposals are discussed as running alongside broader UK online safety regulation.
Starmer tells Apple and Google to block children’s nude image sharing
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells major technology firms, including Apple and Google, to introduce protections aimed at stopping children from taking, sending, receiving, or viewing sexually explic...
- Keir Starmer warns Apple, Google and other tech firms to implement measures to stop children from sending, receiving, or viewing sexually explicit images.
- Reports say protections are expected to rely on device-level or built-in features that restrict access to nude or sexual content for children.
- Multiple outlets report the government is considering a deadline for voluntary compliance and could introduce legislation if companies do not comply.
- Several accounts say the measures target children, including those under 16, and that age verification would allow adult access.
- The government’s plans are described as related to wider UK online safety regulation and aims to reduce exploitation risks for children.
UK to ban under-16s from ‘high risk’ social media apps The GuardianNew plans to stop children taking, sharing or viewing nude images GOV.UKLabour’s spyware plan for phones is straight out of North Korea The TelegraphApple and Google given three months to ban nude images on children's devices BBCA kids’ social-media ban would be a bad parting gift from Keir Starmer The Economist
2 months agoUK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has given Apple, Google, and other tech firms until September to introduce device-level protections that prevent children from taking, sharing, or viewing explicit images. "If businesses do not comply within three months, legislation will be brought forward requiring the protection to be added to all phones and tablets sold in the UK," reports The Guardian. "Tech firms that fail to do so could face fines, and their senior managers could be made criminally liable." From the report: "Today, I am calling on tech companies operating in this country to introduce vice controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images. Because this is not an impossible challenge," he said. "If they choose not, then we will act and we will change the law." [...] Under the changes, sexual predators will be prevented from being able to exploit and abuse victims through their devices, and children stopped from being able to access pornography, the Home Office said. Adults will still be able to take, share or view nude content once they have verified their age. In the Commons, Melanie Ward, the Labour MP for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, said: "It's time to stop asking social media companies to make their products safe, and instead time to start requiring them to do so through regulation." Clive Efford, the Labour MP for Eltham and Chislehurst, said the "sociopaths" running social media platforms had no concern for the welfare of children. "The only message that they're going to listen to is if there's legislation put before this house that is going to act and send a clear message to them." The proposal is designed to sit alongside the Online Safety Act, which requires companies to have processes for removing material that is illegal or harmful to children. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
2 months agoApple, Google and other tech firms have been warned they must roll out software preventing children from taking, sharing and receiving nude images on smartphones and devices
2 months agoStarmer has told tech firms to block naked images on phones for children.
2 months agoUK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned tech firms, including Apple and Google, that they must voluntarily implement tools to stop children sharing explicit images, but experts warn this is easier said than done
2 months agoKeir Starmer is reportedly also on the brink of banning social media for children under 16, just as Australia has done.
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