# New law to force tech firms to stop children taking or sharing nude images

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/new-law-to-force-tech-firms-to-stop-children-taking-or-sharing-nude-images/
- Published: 2026-09-08T18:47:15+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-09T01:06:09+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Technology (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrv9ypp5x2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Government, Politics, Technology

## Key points

- Ministers to legislate after Apple, Google missed June deadline on child nudity blocks
- New law would also cover apps, not just device-level protections
- Charities welcome move but urge swift action to avoid further delay

## Summary

The government has confirmed it will legislate to force tech companies to stop children taking or sharing nude images on smartphones and other devices, after Apple and Google failed to meet a three-month deadline set in June with measures ministers say fall short. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told MPs on Tuesday that although both firms had made "significant commitments", their current proposals "do not meet the scale of this crisis", so ministers would legislate "as soon as they can" — though this could be revisited if the companies act sooner. This matters because charities and police say images captured on children's own devices are frequently the starting point for grooming, sexual extortion and other online abuse.

The draft legislation would go further than device-level blocks, also requiring providers of apps used by children to introduce similar safeguards against nude imagery, so the "whole ecosystem changes". Apple and Google both said they had already made progress, pointing to features such as Apple's Communication Safety tool, and said they remained committed to further work with UK officials. The measures, which stem from the government's violence against women and girls strategy, would not restrict adults' access to nude images but may require age-checks to distinguish child from adult users, a prospect campaigners such as the Open Rights Group have raised privacy concerns about. The NSPCC and the Molly Rose Foundation welcomed the legislative commitment but urged ministers to move quickly, noting the process had already been slow.

## Coverage

- [BBC Technology: New law to force tech firms to stop children taking or sharing nude images](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrv9ypp5x2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [The Guardian: UK to force Apple and Google to block explicit images on children’s smartphones](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/08/uk-apple-google-explicit-images-children-smartphones-lisa-nandy-legislation)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.