UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that Apple and Google have a deadline until September to incorporate software that blocks nude content on children’s mobile devices. If they fail to comply, the government will legislate to make it mandatory.
Starmer called on the tech companies to activate nudity-detection algorithms or other technical solutions on smartphones and tablets. The goal is to prevent images of genitals from being captured or shared unless the user is verified as an adult.
Companies that do not comply within three months will trigger the introduction of a bill making such protection mandatory on all phones and tablets sold in the United Kingdom.
The announcement comes one month after the resignation of Jess Phillips as the minister responsible for child protection. Phillips had accused Starmer of failing to push through changes that would have prevented British children from taking nude images of themselves.
Speaking at London Tech Week, Starmer argued that this plan would make the UK the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to capture, share, or view nude images.
“For far too long, we were told this is the price of modern technology. That nothing could be done, that government is powerless, that parents just have to accept it. I reject that entirely. Technology must adapt to society’s needs, not the other way around,” he said.
The Home Office clarified that online predators would be prevented from exploiting victims through their devices, and that minors would not be able to access pornographic material. Adults would retain the ability to capture, share, or view nude content through an age verification process.
Ministers have praised companies such as HMD Global, which released a children’s device with software called HarmBlock (developed by British firm SafeToNet) that automatically detects and blocks nude images. By contrast, both Apple’s and Google’s Android systems currently offer sensitive content warnings, but these can be bypassed with a passcode.
The UK initiative follows a similar move by Australia, which asked companies to develop nudity-detection features using techniques such as blurring or warning messages. The proposal is designed to work alongside the Online Safety Act, which already requires companies to remove illegal or harmful content from minors.
Neither Apple nor Google currently has a nudity-blocking system that operates across the entire operating system, including third-party apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram.
It is worth noting that Phillips, in her resignation letter in May, wrote that over a year ago she had presented solutions that would have ended the ability of children in the UK to take nude images of themselves, and that it took a full year for Starmer to agree to even threaten legislation — not to legislate, just to threaten. She called it “the definition of incremental change.”
Meanwhile, there is strong speculation that Starmer may adopt an “Australia-plus” model, involving broader website bans, restrictions on “addictive” platform features, and stricter age verification requirements. Some commentators also link the move to Starmer’s need to build a political legacy amid a potential leadership challenge from Andy Burnham.
