Apple & Google Miss UK Child Nudity Block Deadline
Original: Apple and Google Miss Deadline to Block Child Nudity on Their Phones in the UK
Why This Matters
The legislation sets a global precedent for mandatory child safety features on consumer devices, with criminal liability for tech executives.
The UK government announced new legislation on September 8, 2026, after Apple and Google missed a three-month deadline to block child nudity on devices. Companies face fines and potential criminal liability for bosses. Similar rules may extend to Instagram and Snapchat.
In June 2026, then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave Big Tech three months to make taking, viewing, or sharing child nudity images on smartphones impossible. When the deadline passed on Tuesday, September 8, the government declared Apple and Google had failed to meet the required standard. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Lisa Nandy told lawmakers that while both companies had engaged with government engineers since June, their proposed solutions 'do not meet the scale of this crisis.' The new legislation — described by the UK government as world-first — would require child protection features to be built into all existing and newly sold smartphones and tablets in the UK. Companies failing to comply would face fines, and their executives could face criminal liability. Nandy also signaled plans to extend similar requirements to apps popular with children, including Instagram and Snapchat. Apple pointed to its Communication Safety feature, launched in 2021, which blurs detected nudity on children's devices. Google stated it was 'pleased to have made progress' and committed to continued collaboration. Critics, including Signal, warned in June that the measures risk creating 'invisible surveillance infrastructure' by requiring age verification and content scanning. The NSPCC's CEO Chris Sherwood welcomed the legislation, calling it essential after the deadline passed.