The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has announced that sharing intimate images without consent will be classified as a 'priority offence' under the Online Safety Act, and that social media platforms will now be expected to remove and stop non-consensually shared intimate images from appearing on their platforms, or they will face fines.
While we appreciate the UK Government’s announcement regarding the now strengthened direction within the Online Safety Act to crack down on intimate image abuse, we are concerned that this is more an act of legislative housekeeping rather than the significant progress many of us working in this area had hoped for. The law that makes it illegal to share intimate images without consent was updated in January 2024 under the Online Safety Act, but the previous laws were already listed as priority offences. What is being announced today is an update to that list of priority offences to replace the old law with the new one. While necessary, it feels like an administrative update.
As we have called for in the UK Safer Internet Centre Manifesto, the Revenge Porn Helpline believes there are more pressing issues that the UK Government needs to address to eradicate intimate image abuse online, such as ensuring that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can block intimate content that can’t be removed. Non-consensual intimate content (NCII) is still available to view across thousands of platforms, and our focus should be on clamping down on this growing issue by providing long-term solutions which will bring lasting change to the protection of women and girls online.
Sophie Mortimer, Manager of the Revenge Porn Helpline, said:
“While we welcome every step that indicates progress in tackling intimate image abuse and reducing the harm that shared and reshared intimate images cause victims and survivors every day, today’s announcement, while necessary, will not create significant change. The current legislation only came into effect in January through the Online Safety Act, and the previous laws were already listed as a priority offence, so this feels like legislative housekeeping.
We are calling on this government, as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls within ten years, to conduct a holistic review of the entire ecosystem of online spaces and work with specialist organisations, experts, academics, activists and survivors to develop a range of effective responses to this devastating abuse that ensures justice and appropriate redress for everyone.”
Get In Touch
If you have been affected by intimate image abuse and are an adult over the age of 18 living in the UK, you can contact the Revenge Porn Helpline at 0345 6000 459 or email help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk, or find out more information on our website.
StopNCII.org can also be used around the world to help protect adults’ intimate images from being shared across participating platforms. Find out more at StopNCII.org.
