The UK government announced plans in September 2026 to introduce new legislation targeting Apple and Google after both companies failed to meet a three-month deadline to block child nudity on their devices. Companies that do not comply could face fines and potential criminal liability for their executives.
The deadline was set in June 2026, when then prime minister Keir Starmer told tech firms they had three months to make taking, viewing, or sharing images of child nudity on their devices impossible. When that deadline passed on Tuesday, the government confirmed neither Apple nor Google had delivered solutions at the required scale.
Lisa Nandy, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media, and sport, told lawmakers that while engineers from both companies had been working with the government since June, the changes made “do not meet the scale of this crisis.” The proposed legislation, which the UK government describes as a world-first of its kind, would apply to all existing and newly sold smartphones and tablets in the UK. Nandy added she would reassess whether legislation is necessary if platforms implement solutions while it is being drawn up.
Nandy also said she plans to explore placing similar legal requirements on apps used by children, including Instagram and Snapchat. She is additionally considering strengthening laws around AI chatbots to protect children, and looking at extending the UK’s planned social media ban for under-16s, which is on track to take effect in spring 2027.
Apple told WIRED it shares the UK’s commitment to combating exploitation and pointed to its Communication Safety feature, launched in 2021, which blurs nudity detected on a child’s device. Google said its team is “pleased to have made progress” and remains committed to working with experts and legislators.
Not all observers support the measures. In June, messaging app Signal warned that requiring age verification and content scanning could create “invisible surveillance infrastructure” and lead to wider surveillance of UK residents. Similar child safety legislation in the EU has drawn opposition from civil rights activists on privacy grounds.
Source: WIRED