Cross-party push would block child sexual abuse images on UK devices

A cross-party alliance of peers and MPs plans to put proposals to Parliament that would block all smartphones and tablets in the UK from viewing or creating child sexual abuse material. Technology companies would be required to install blocking software on every device sold in Britain, with older devices potentially covered by a mandatory software update.

What the proposals would do

Under the plans, images and videos of child sexual abuse, including AI-generated material, would be instantly blurred. Livestreaming of abuse would become impossible. The government has already promised to legislate to force Apple and Google to prevent children from taking or sharing nude images on devices.

Who is backing the campaign

The campaign is spearheaded in the House of Lords by Conservative peer and former education minister John Nash, who championed a ban on social media for under-16s. Labour former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, who resigned over the failure of Keir Starmer's government to act quickly enough to block nudity on children's phones, is leading the charge in the House of Commons. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said tech companies had failed to protect children from some of the worst harms, while Andy Burnham said the protections would be built into the device and switched on by default.

John Nash said there was a ghastly worldwide industry of child sexual abuse material being created and that Britain was one of the biggest consumers of it. He argued that if software can block nude images on children's phones, it can also block child sexual abuse images on all phones. He also said free speech was important, but the material is illegal and the harm is so awful that action is needed. If ministers do not legislate, Nash plans to introduce an amendment, probably to the forthcoming national security bill, and said he would prefer the government to act itself.

Jess Phillips said the software already exists to blur or block inappropriate images. She said she did not want paedophiles in the country abusing children in the Philippines and asked why the country would not seek to stop it. Simon Bailey, former chief constable of Norfolk and former National Police Chiefs' Council lead on child protection for eight years, said tougher regulation was needed and that technology exists to identify such material.

Evidence and public support

Last year, the Internet Watch Foundation removed more than 312,000 online child sexual abuse images, a 7% increase on 2024. Analysts also found 3,440 AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse, compared with only 13 in 2024. A paper due this week, written by technology, law enforcement, cybersecurity and child protection experts, proposes using AI tools to identify and disrupt suspected abuse on devices before images are viewed or shared. Contributors include Mark Bevan, Interpol's head of crimes against children; Dan Sexton, chief technology officer at the Internet Watch Foundation; and Sarah Napier from the Australian Institute of Criminology.

A poll by The Observer found only 6% are very confident that tech companies are doing enough to detect and remove the material. After a short description of the blocking technology, 80% support it being installed on their smartphone or tablet, while 5% oppose it. Almost 90% of both Labour and Conservative voters back the software. A government spokesman said ministers are putting in place the strongest online safety laws in the world and will give police powers to keep pace with criminal use of emerging technologies.

Sources: observer.co.uk