UK lawmakers plan a law that stops abuse images on all phones

Peers and members of parliament from some parties will put a plan to the UK parliament, led in the House of Lords by John Nash. Technology companies must install software on all devices on sale in Britain. The software blurs images and videos of child sexual abuse, also material made by AI, and stops livestreaming of abuse.

How it works

The software blurs the material when a person tries to view or make it. A mandatory software update can include devices that a person uses. Andy Burnham said the protections are on by default in the device.

The numbers

The Internet Watch Foundation removed more than 312,000 online child abuse images last year. It found 3,440 videos made by AI, and only 13 in 2024. In a poll by The Observer, 80% want the software on their device after a short description.

What is not known

No test results show how correctly the software works. Nash and Simon Bailey, who was a police chief, say the technology exists. The promise of the government includes only nude images on the phones of children.

Insight: A child phone rule becomes the proof for all phones

The government promised to make Apple and Google stop nude images on the phones of children, and Nash uses this as proof that it is possible on all phones. This reads as a move to use precedent: one promised rule becomes the argument for a rule on all phones. If ministers make no law, Nash will add a change, possibly to the national security bill.