Google, Apple face UK crackdown over child phone safety rules

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued an ultimatum to big tech giants including Apple and Google to introduce device control rules regarding the use of phones for children.

According to the prime minister, the tech companies must either install software to block explicit images or to activate nudity-detection algorithms to protect kids from the explicit and implicit harms of the digital landscape.

Under this warning, Google and Apple would have three months to enforce these or else they would face legislation enforcing these requirements.

Speaking at London Tech Week on Monday, the primary goal of this plan is to make the UK the first country where children are strictly prohibited to take, share and view nude and obscene images.

“I reject that completely because tech should adapt to the needs of society, not the other way round. If we are serious about unlocking the opportunities that tech can bring then we must also be serious about preventing those who want to abuse it – the online predators.”

“That is why today, I am calling on tech companies operating in this country to introduce vice controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images. Because this is not an impossible challenge,” the PM asserted.

“If they choose not, then we will act and we will change the law,” he said

In the case of non compliance within 3 months, the government will introduce legislation requiring all mobile phones and tablets sold in the UK to feature this protection.

While Apple and Google offer content warnings, these can be bypassed by a passcode. Furthermore, they currently lack a nudity-blocking system that functions across an entire operating system, including third-party apps like WhatsApp or Telegram.

The announcement comes as the kids in Britain are at high risk of exposure to pornographic and sexually explicit content. The ministers are promoting devices with built-in software, such as HarmBlock by SafeToNet, that automatically detects and blocks obscene imagery.