On Tuesday 8th September, the UK Government announced plans for new legislation that would require technology companies to make it impossible for children under 18 to take, view or send nude images on their devices.
The announcement comes at a critical time, as children and young people continue to face growing risks of sexual exploitation and abuse online. The proposed legislation would place greater responsibility on technology companies to build stronger safeguards into devices and services, helping to prevent grooming, exploitation and abuse before children are exposed to harm.
The Government has described the proposals as world-leading, with the ambition of making the UK’s online child safety laws the strongest in the world. Importantly, the measures would shift responsibility towards the companies developing and providing the technology, rather than expecting children, parents and carers to manage these risks alone.
Putting Protection at the Heart of Online Safety
Following the introduction of the Online Safety Act, SWGfL welcomes the Government’s continued commitment to protecting children from some of the most serious harms they can face online.
Our work through the Family Smart Start project highlights just how embedded technology is in children’s lives. By the age of 11, often around the transition to secondary school, 9 in 10 children in the UK already own a smartphone.
As children become increasingly connected to the digital world, the devices they use must be designed with their safety in mind. The Government’s proposals recognise that responsibility cannot rest solely with children and families. Technology companies have a vital role to play in preventing harm and ensuring meaningful safeguards are built into the devices and services children use every day.
Prevention and early intervention are essential. Online exploitation can have devastating and lasting consequences for children, and stronger protections at device and platform level could play an important role in reducing their exposure to these harms.
The Growing Threat to Children Online
The need for action is clear. Children and young people are facing increasingly complex forms of online exploitation, including the creation and sharing of sexual imagery.
Recent figures from UK Safer Internet Centre partners, the Internet Watch Foundation highlight the rapidly escalating nature of the threat. Its Report Remove service received 19 sextortion reports in 2022. By 2025, that figure had risen to 394. In 2024, the charity reported that 91% of online child sexual abuse reports contained self-generated content from children themselves.
Behind these statistics are children experiencing exploitation, coercion and abuse. Effective safeguards must be built into the systems and devices around them, with intervention taking place before harm occurs wherever possible.
At SWGfL, we have seen first-hand the impact online harms can have on young people. Through our Family Smart Start Pilot and Professionals Online Safety Helpline, we continue to support families and professionals in understanding online risks, responding to harm and strengthening approaches to online safety.
Charlotte Aynsley, Head of Online Safety Policy at SWGfL, said:
“We welcome the Government’s commitment to preventing children from taking, sharing and viewing nude imagery. Through the work of our UK Safer Internet Centre partners, we continue to see the devastating prevalence of child sexual abuse material being created and shared online, including imagery that children have been groomed or coerced into producing themselves.
This proposed legislation is an important step towards tackling the systems and technology that enable this harm, placing greater responsibility on technology companies to build meaningful protection into the devices and services children use every day. We now need to see the Government drive this proposal forward with urgency and ensure full implementation, so that prevention and early intervention are built into the online experiences of children and young people.
Technology can open up incredible opportunities for children to learn, connect and explore, and they should be able to experience those benefits without being exposed to devastating abuse and exploitation. We have a responsibility to make sure that safety is built into the technology they use, not left for children and families to navigate alone. The time for ambition is now, but it must be matched with action that delivers real and lasting protection for children online.”
Turning Commitment Into Protection
The Government’s announcement is an important step, but its success will depend on turning ambition into meaningful protection.
The commitment has been made. Now it must become action that delivers real and lasting protection for children online.
