The UK government has proposed new legislation requiring technology platforms to remove intimate images shared without consent within 48 hours, placing stricter obligations on companies operating in the digital ecosystem. The measure forms part of an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill currently progressing through the House of Lords.
Under the proposed rules, platforms would be required to act within 48 hours once an abusive image has been flagged. Victims would only need to report content once rather than contacting multiple services individually, and companies would be obliged to prevent the same material from being re-uploaded. The government said intimate image abuse should be treated with the same severity as child sexual abuse material and terrorist content, where similar removal mechanisms already apply.
Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 10 per cent of global turnover or the blocking of services within the UK. The proposal also includes guidance enabling internet service providers to restrict access to websites hosting illegal material, targeting platforms that fall outside the scope of the Online Safety Act. Enforcement would involve oversight bodies responsible for online regulation, alongside potential criminal proceedings, although the prime minister indicated prison sentences for executives were not envisaged.
Government data underline the scale of the issue. A report published in July 2025 found that young men and boys were frequently targeted for financial sexual extortion, often referred to as sextortion. A separate parliamentary report in May 2025 recorded a 20.9 per cent increase in intimate image abuse reports during 2024. Women, girls and LGBT people are described as disproportionately affected.
The announcement follows earlier tensions between the government and social media platform X over AI-generated images created by its Grok tool, and separate legislation introduced this month criminalising non-consensual deepfake images. Ministers argue the latest proposal shifts responsibility from victims to platforms, while extending regulatory pressure on technology firms operating in the UK market.
