Sir Keir Starmer has told Apple, Google and other tech companies they have until September to stop children taking, sending or viewing sexually explicit images on smartphones — or face legislation that would force them to do so.
Speaking at London Tech Week on Monday, the prime minister said the UK would become the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to access nudity on their devices unless they are verified adults. "For too long, people have been told that is simply the price of modern tech, that nothing could be done, that government is powerless," he said. "I reject that completely."
“Starmer gives Apple and Google until September to block explicit images on children's phones or face legislation.”
The government wants built-in nudity-detection software activated on all existing and newly sold phones and tablets. A Home Office source said Apple and Google already use such software in their native messaging apps, but it must be built into the operating system to comply. If firms do not comply voluntarily within three months, legislation will be introduced — with fines or, as a last resort, criminal liability for non-compliance.
Adults will still be able to access nude content after verifying their age. The prime minister said the changes would not affect devices owned by adults who verify their age. The Home Office said the move would prevent sexual predators exploiting victims and stop children accessing pornography.
Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the NSPCC, called it "a major step forward in our fight against online child sexual abuse". He added: "Time is up for Big Tech. Now Government must focus on holding them to account."
A Google spokesperson said the company was "deeply committed to protecting children online" and working "constructively with UK partners to find effective, privacy-preserving solutions". Apple already age-verifies UK users and offers a blocking service for several of its own apps including iMessage, where its Communication Safety feature warns children when they send or receive nudity — turned on by default for under-18s with a Child Account.
The announcement comes a month after Jess Phillips resigned as safeguarding minister, accusing Starmer of failing to act. In her resignation letter, she wrote: "It has taken me a year to get you to even threaten to legislate in this space. Not legislate, just threaten. This is the definition of incremental change." Speaking on Monday, she said she was "delighted that finally we are at this stage".
The government said 91% of online child sexual abuse reports recorded in 2024 contained self-generated content from children themselves, and the average child now views pornography by the age of 13.