Government plans new law to stop children taking and sharing nude images on phones

Ministers say new rules are needed to protect children from grooming, sextortion and online sexual abuse.

A girl is sitting at a table by a large window, holding a yellow smartphone in front of their face.

Getty/Stefania Pelfini la Waziya

Published: September 9, 2026 at 11:45 AM

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The government is preparing new legislation that would require technology companies to stop children from taking, viewing and sharing nude images on smartphones.

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The plans follow a three-month deadline given to Apple and Google in June to introduce stronger protections on devices used by under-18s. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told MPs that, despite "significant commitments" from both companies, current proposals "do not meet the scale of this crisis".

Ministers said they would begin work on legislation "as soon as they can", although they could reassess the need for a new law if technology companies introduce effective solutions sooner.

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What would the new rules mean for children's phones?

The government wants protections to be built into smartphones and switched on by default for children.

The proposed legislation would require device manufacturers to prevent under-18s from taking, viewing or sharing nude imagery. Similar protections would also be required from apps used by children.

Nandy said the aim was to tackle the wider technology ecosystem through which children can be groomed or abused online.

"This will ensure that the whole ecosystem changes, tackling the means by which children are most often abused or groomed in the online world," she said.

The government says the measures would not prevent adults from accessing nude imagery on their own devices. However, this could mean technology companies need to establish whether a device is being used by an adult or a child.

Why is the government introducing the measures?

The proposals are intended to reduce the risk of children being groomed into creating and sharing explicit images of themselves.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) recorded more than 140,000 pieces of self-generated child sexual abuse material over a 12-month period last year, accounting for a quarter of the child sexual abuse material it recorded.

The NSPCC says content created on a child's device can be the starting point for grooming, sexual extortion and other forms of online child sexual abuse. Police chiefs have also previously identified restrictions on taking and sharing nude images as an important tool in tackling sextortion.

Hannah Swirsky, head of policy at the IWF, said the organisation was pleased the government was taking action.

"It is deeply disappointing that tech firms have failed to act in full, but we are pleased that the government is now taking decisive legislative action to keep children safe," she said.

What have Apple and Google said?

Both Apple and Google have said they are committed to improving child safety while protecting users' privacy.

Apple said it launched its Communication Safety feature in 2021 to help prevent children from seeing or sharing images containing nudity, and has continued to expand its capabilities.

"We share the UK's commitment to combating exploitation and abuse online, and have shared with UK officials future plans to strengthen Communication Safety and other tools even further to help keep kids safe," an Apple spokesperson said.

Google said it was an "industry leader in combating non-consensual intimate imagery and advancing child safety across our products".

The company said it was "pleased to have made progress" in discussions with the government and remained committed to working on measures to keep children safe.

Privacy concerns around the plans

The proposals have also raised questions about privacy, particularly around how technology companies would identify whether someone using a device is a child or an adult.

Some of the technology being considered could involve scanning content directly on a device before it is encrypted or sent, known as client-side scanning.

Privacy campaigners have previously warned that adults could be required to verify their age before disabling protections designed for children. The government has denied that its proposals would amount to surveillance.

The Open Rights Group has previously raised concerns that the measures could result in adults being subjected to digital age checks and private images being scanned by default.

The government says the proposed legislation will be developed to protect children while taking privacy considerations into account.

When could the law come into force?

Ministers have not yet given a date for the legislation to come into force.

Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the NSPCC, described the plans as a "necessary move" following the failure of technology companies to meet the three-month deadline.

However, he warned that further delays could leave children at risk.

"Children cannot face more delays, so Government must act swiftly and ensure these measures are enshrined in law at the earliest opportunity," he said.

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The government has said it will continue discussions with technology companies, meaning the final details of the proposed protections could change before any legislation is introduced.

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