Overview
- The Home Office is preparing a request, not a mandate, with an announcement expected in the coming days according to the Financial Times.
- The plan seeks OS-level nudity detection that blocks the taking, sharing, or viewing of explicit images unless a user verifies adulthood via biometrics or official ID.
- Initial focus is on smartphones, with the model potentially extending to desktops and other devices after mobile rollout.
- Age assurance would shift to the platform level so Apple or Google verify once and apply restrictions across apps and device features.
- Ministers link the move to child-safety and efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, while critics cite privacy risks and note prior UK age checks were circumvented with fake photos and VPNs.