Starmer warns Apple and Google to block explicit images on children’s phones

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced new plans requiring tech companies, such as Apple and Google, to implement technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children. Speaking at London Tech Week, the Prime Minister stated that the measures aim to make the UK the first country to ensure children cannot take, share, or view explicit material, thereby protecting them from online predators and pornography.

Tech firms have been given a three-month ultimatum to activate these features voluntarily across existing and newly sold UK devices. If they fail to act, the government will introduce legislation to enforce compliance with monetary penalties for rule violations, and potential criminal liability for executives will also be explored as a last resort. The government claims that adults will not be affected by the restrictions targeting devices used by children, and can bypass the blocks through an age verification process. To facilitate age checks, the government stipulates that privacy-preserving measures must operate directly on devices, without collecting data or monitoring users.

The enforcement drive follows data showing that 91% of online child sexual abuse reports in 2024 involved self-generated material from children. Additionally, the average age for viewing pornography has dropped to 13, contributing to increased misogyny, normalised sexual harms, and abuse in young relationships.

While the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) introduced accountability for platforms, the government maintains that further device-level action is necessary to treat online harms with the same urgency as offline abuse.

The announcement coincides with the closing of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) consultation on children's social media usage, which received over 100,000 responses from experts, parents, and young people. The government has said it plans to share the responses soon. The Financial Times (£) reported on Friday that over 90% of responses favour a ban. 

In a statement responding to the news, Signal warned that the UK's demand that all devices sold or used in the country be scanned for nudity, combined with age verification, "endangers us all" and will not safeguard children. Instead, it calls for effective child safety measures, such as "well-funded education, robust social services, and guardrails on the AI," not "invisible surveillance infrastructure, switched on by default and potentially rushed into law under cynical pretexts."

Meanwhile, a separate staement by Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, stated: "Protecting children online is vital, but these are outrageous plans that will fail to address the underlying causes of online harm. This will only result in population-wide ID checks for all of us to use our phones, tablets and laptops.

"Put simply, the Labour Government is threatening ID checks for the internet. No one in a democracy should need to show their passport just to get online.

"The Government’s plan very likely means that unless you submit to intrusive identity checks when setting up your phone or computer, there will be a chokehold on your software and internet access leaving you with a child-locked device. Planned restrictions on messaging, streaming and browsing raise the potential of spyware in our pockets that will be exploited for other purposes before long."

£ - The Financial Times article requires a subscription. 

Additional reporting by The Guardian.

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