New UK Law to Force Apple, Google to Block Nude Images on Kids’ Devices

The UK government is moving forward with binding legislation designed to compel Apple and Google to implement device-wide nudity detection and blocking features on smartphones and tablets used by minors, Bloomberg is reporting.

The legislative push follows a strict three-month ultimatum originally issued in June by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. At the time, the government warned tech giants that they had until September to voluntarily activate operating-system-level safeguards making it practically impossible for children under 18 to take, share, or view explicit sexual imagery on their devices.

Addressing parliament, UK Culture Secretary and Digital Minister Lisa Nandy confirmed that while tech firms have made noticeable progress on nudity blocking, formal legislation remains necessary to guarantee full protection across all mobile platforms and third-party apps.

Currently, both major smartphone operating systems offer opt-in sensitive content warnings. Apple features Communication Safety settings on accounts designated for children, which warn users when explicit media is detected across Messages, AirDrop, and FaceTime. Similarly, Google offers Sensitive Content Warnings within Google Messages for supervised teen accounts.

However, British authorities argue that existing safeguards fall short because they do not cover every entry point on a mobile device. Under current setups, nudity detection rarely extends directly to device camera apps, web browsers, or third-party messaging services like WhatsApp, Snapchat, or Telegram. Consequently, minors remain exposed to online grooming, coerced sextortion, and exposure to harmful adult material.

The proposed UK law aims to establish system-level protections that operate universally across every application running on iOS and Android. Under the mandate, devices assigned to users under 18 would automatically block sexually explicit images from being captured by the camera, downloaded from the web, or transmitted via any messaging platform.

Failure to comply with the proposed framework could expose tech manufacturers to substantial penalties under the supervision of online safety regulators, including hefty financial fines and potential legal accountability for senior corporate officers.