- Government orders tech platforms to detect and remove
intimate images shared without consent
- Firms put on notice that any non-consensual intimate image
that is flagged to them must be taken down in under 48 hours.
- Government clear that tackling intimate image abuse
should be treated with the same severity the same as child sexual
abuse material and terrorist content.
Tech companies will be ordered to take down intimate images
shared without a victim's consent within 48 hours, under new laws
to protect women and girls from this distressing abuse.
Through an amendment to the Crime and Policing
Bill, companies will be legally required to
remove this content no more than 48 hours after it is flagged to
them, and platforms that fail to act could face fines of up to
10% of their qualifying worldwide revenue or
having their services blocked in the UK.
The government is determined to make sure that victims will only
need to report an image once. This would mean where an image is
reported, they are removed across multiple platforms in
one go, and from then on, they are
automatically deleted at every new upload.
As part of that work, plans are currently being considered by
Ofcom for these kinds of images to be treated with the same
severity as child sexual abuse and terrorism content, digitally
marking them so that any time someone tries to repost them, they
will be automatically taken down.
In a further step to protect victims, we will publish guidance
for internet providers setting out how they should block access
to sites hosting this content, targeting rogue websites that may
fall outside the reach of the Online Safety Act.
In recent years, there has been a worrying trend of intimate
images being used to threaten, intimidate and distress, and the
Prime Minister is determined to hand back control to victims and
end their fear that even when an image is taken down, it will
only be put up somewhere else.
Prime Minister Keir Stamer said:
"As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw firsthand the
unimaginable, often lifelong pain and trauma violence against
women and girls causes. As Prime Minister, I will leave
no stone unturned in the fight to protect women from violence and
abuse.
"The online world is the frontline of the 21st century
battle against violence against women and girls. That's why my
government is taking urgent action: against chatbots and
‘nudification' tools.
"Today we are going further, putting companies on notice so that
any non-consensual image is taken down in under 48 hours.
“Violence against women and girls has no place in our society,
and I will not rest until it is rooted out.”
Technology Secretary said:
"The days of tech firms having a free pass are over. Because of
the action we are taking platforms must now find and remove
intimate images shared without consent within a maximum of 48
hours.
“No woman should have to chase platform after platform, waiting
days for an image to come down. Under this government, you report
once and you're protected everywhere.
“The internet must be a space where women and girls feel safe,
respected, and able to thrive."
Minister for Violence Against Women and Girls, said:
“Intimate image abuse devastates lives. These new measures send a
clear message: tech platforms can no longer drag their feet. When
harmful content is flagged, it must come down, and fast.
“By requiring companies to remove non‑consensual intimate images
within 48 hours, we are finally putting the onus where it belongs
– on the tech firms with the power and resources to act.
“It's a vital step towards making the online world safer, fairer,
and more respectful for women and girls.”
The government was elected on a pledge to recognise violence
against women and girls as a national emergency, and halve this
crime in the next decade. Central to this pledge is keeping women
and girls safe online.
Just weeks ago, the government called out abhorrent
non-consensual intimate images being shared on Grok, which led to
the function being removed. Ministers are also legislating to
make 'nudification' tools illegal and bringing chatbots - like
Grok - within scope of the Online Safety Act.
Creating or sharing non-consensual intimate images will also
become a 'priority offence' under the Online Safety Act, meaning
this crime is treated with the same seriousness as child abuse or
terrorism.
This builds on the government's VAWG strategy, the first step in
the government's plan to transform how society response to these
awful crimes, this included more than 200 pledges spanning
prevention, supporting victims and pursuing offenders, and this
laid out a whole of government, and a whole of society approach.
The Prime Minister has been clear this is the first step in the
mission to halve violence against women and girls in the next
decade, and his government is now focused on delivery.
