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HM GovernmentPolice, courts, prisons

Stop children taking, sharing or viewing naked pictures

“New legislation will be prepared by the government to force tech companies to make it impossible for children to take, share or view naked pictures.”

PromisedPress release (DCMS), 9 Sep 2026
  1. Promised

Where it stands

No date was given: the government says it will introduce the legislation as soon as possible, and will reassess whether it is needed if companies put solutions in place themselves. The same press release says features that keep users scrolling for longer, such as videos that play one after another and personalised feeds, will also be switched off by default for 16 and 17-year-olds; no date is given for this either.

What has happened

  1. Sep 2026Government announces it will bring forward legislation requiring technology companies to stop under-18s taking, sharing or viewing nude images on their devices, Promised

About the cost

No cost to the public purse stated. The law would require technology companies to build protections into their devices, so the main cost falls on the companies. The government has not yet published the bill or an impact assessment, and its announcement gives no figure.

More detail

Sources (1)
Corrections (2): what we fixed, in public
  1. Corrected on 8 Oct 2026: Cost note in version 1The note said only that no costing was published. It now says who bears the cost under the announced plan.Was: “No costing published.”Now: “No cost to the public purse stated. The law would require technology companies to build protections into their devices, so the main cost falls on the companies. The government has not yet published the bill or an impact assessment, and its announcement gives no figure.”Source for the correction
  2. Corrected on 8 Oct 2026: Costing sources in version 1The note said only that no costing was published. It now says who bears the cost under the announced plan.Was: not givenNow: DCMS: UK to have world's strongest online child safety laws as government prepares legislation on nude images (9 Sep 2026); DCMS: Lisa Nandy's statement on protecting children online (8 Sep 2026)Source for the correction
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