Tech companies will be forced to stop children viewing or sharing nude images online amid growing concern over horrific abuse by paedophiles.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said new measures would make Britain the first country in the world to block youngsters from making or viewing imagery with nude or sexual content.
Apple, Google and other technology firms will be given three months to voluntarily introduce the measures – based on existing safeguards – or face being forced to do so by law.
Organised paedophile groups are luring children into making indecent content and then blackmailing them into perverse sexual behaviour, before encouraging them to commit self-harm and even suicide, officials warned.
They said extreme child sex abuse images are rife online, with platforms such as TikTok and Telegram actively promoting new sources of illegal filth to users.
In some cases, tech companies even make a financial profit from child sex abuse images by encouraging users to buy ‘reward’ points for cash, government sources said.
Artificial intelligence computer programs allow paedophiles to make highly realistic child sex abuse videos from just a single innocent photograph of a real child posted online, it was warned.
Under Labour’s proposals, tech companies which fail to introduce measures voluntarily could be compelled to act by a change in the law.
Tech companies will be forced to stop children viewing or sharing nude images online, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in a speech at London Tech Week, in Olympia, west London
Companies could then face fines or the threat of criminal convictions for their executives, including potential jail sentences, if they ignore any new laws.
The Prime Minister said: ‘When it comes to the safety of our children, standing by is not an option. Nobody gets a free pass.
‘That is why I’m making sure Britain is the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images.
PM Sir Keir Starmer said tech firms will be expected to introduce changes to stop children using electronic devices to view, take or share indecent images – or face new laws
‘And I expect tech firms to make that happen.
‘This is not an impossible challenge – these are some of the most innovative companies in the world.
‘But if they choose not to, then we will act and change the law.’
More than nine out of 10 online child sexual abuse reports now feature images which were ‘self-generated’ by young people.
The proposals would see tech companies forced to introduce age verification on smartphones and computers, including tablets.
Unless someone was verified to be over 18 the device cameras would be unable to capture nude images or show them on the screen.
Officials believe it would mean any child targeted online by paedophiles would then be able to say ‘my phone doesn’t allow me to do that’.
It would apply not only to new devices but those which have already been sold, with changes introduced through software updates.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘Tech companies have a moral duty to act, by making it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images.
‘If they don’t, we will legislate.’
