London: Technology companies in Britain will be legally required from January 8 to block unsolicited sexual images under the new Online Safety Act, as governments around the world intensify efforts to tackle online abuse and the growing risks associated with artificial intelligence.
The move follows the criminalisation of cyberflashing in England and Wales in January 2024, which carries penalties of up to two years in prison for offenders.
The offence has now been designated a priority offence under Britain’s Online Safety Act, imposing stricter legal duties on platforms including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X, as well as dating applications and websites hosting pornographic content. Under the legislation, platforms are obliged to take active steps to prevent and remove such material.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said in a statement that, “Platforms are now required by law to detect and prevent this material. The internet must be a space where women and girls feel safe, respected, and able to thrive.”
Kendall’s remarks come after a September poll found that one in three teenage girls had received unsolicited sexual images. The government said that Britain’s media regulator Ofcom will consult on the specific measures that platforms must adopt to comply with the Online Safety Act.
Global outcry over deepfakes on X
The tougher UK rules come during the growing international concern over sexually explicit deepfake images, particularly on Elon Musk’s social media platform X.
France has launched an investigation into X over explicit deepfake images generated through its chatbot Grok, describing the content as “manifestly illegal.” The European Commission noted that it was examining Grok’s ‘spicy mode,’ ‘very seriously,’ warning that such content had no place in Europe.
Kendall has urged X to urgently address a rise in intimate deepfake images, calling the material ‘absolutely appalling.’ Ofcom emphasized that it had made contact with X to understand what steps the platform was taking to comply with its legal duties in the UK. Indian authorities have also demanded explanations from the company.
X’s Safety account highlighted that it removes illegal content and suspends accounts involved in such activity. However, Musk has dismissed concerns publicly, posting laughing emojis in response to edited bikini images of public figures shared online.
The measures underline mounting global pressure on technology platforms to curb harmful content as AI-generated imagery becomes increasingly widespread.
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