Starmer's ultimatum to Apple and Google so that minors do not send or receive sexual images

LondonThe British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has issued an ultimatum to major technology companies to activate mechanisms that prevent minors from taking, sending, or receiving sexually explicit images from their mobile phones. If they do not voluntarily take action within three months, the government will push for new legislation to force them to do so. The announcement, made this Monday during the inauguration of London Tech Week, would make the United Kingdom the first country in the world to require specific measures from device manufacturers and operating system developers in this regard.ad hoc for device manufacturers and developers of their operating systems in this direction.

"When it comes to the safety of our children, standing by idly is not an option," said the

prime minister to representatives of the tech sector. The head of government assured that companies like Apple and Google have the necessary technical capacity to implement these controls.

The proposal aims to go beyond current sexual content detection systems that already work in some applications. Both Apple and Google have technologies capable of identifying sexually explicit images in their own services like iMessage or Google Messages, but these tools are not applied universally to device cameras or third-party apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Instagram.

The executive justifies the initiative with worrying data on young people's exposure to sexual content online. According to official figures, 91% of reports on online child sexual abuse registered in 2024 contained material generated by minors themselves. Furthermore, the average age at which children first access pornography is currently 13 years old.

Large-scale surveillance

Child protection organizations have been calling for more decisive measures for years. They warn that many cases of sexual grooming on the internet begin when adults pose as teenagers to gain the trust of minors and get them to share intimate images. On other occasions, the photographs are initially sent consensually between classmates but end up circulating uncontrollably.

Despite the support of child advocacy groups, the announcement has also generated reservations among digital rights organizations. Groups like Open Rights Group or Big Brother Watch warn that the expansion of age verification mechanisms could lead to large-scale surveillance infrastructure and new identification requirements to access the internet.

The initiative is part of a broader offensive by the Labour government to limit the impact of social media on minors. The recent closure of a public consultation on a possible ban on social media access for those under 16 years of age suggests further announcements in the coming days.