Overview
- On Monday the prime minister set a 90‑day ultimatum for companies such as Apple and Google to enable device‑level nudity detection and age checks or face new laws and fines.
- The government wants phones and tablets to block the camera and other device functions from producing or showing explicit images to under‑18s while allowing adults to access such content after age verification.
- Officials and firms acknowledge current gaps because nudity filters are not applied to some camera functions, third‑party messaging apps or encrypted services, leaving enforcement and technical limits unresolved.
- UK media report ministers are preparing a separate proposal to restrict under‑16 access to some high‑risk social platforms, with possible carve‑outs for ‘safer’ apps though those plans remain unconfirmed.
- Child‑safety groups back urgent action but experts and civil‑liberties groups warn the measures pose privacy and surveillance risks, and researchers say evidence on full bans is still limited and mixed.