Sharing intimate images without consent will be made a ‘priority offence’ under the Online Safety Act and social media firms will have to proactively remove and stop this material appearing on their platforms.
From: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, Jess Phillips MP and Alex Davies-Jones MP Published
Social media companies will have to remove and prevent intimate image abuse.
- Sharing intimate images without consent will be made a ‘priority offence’ - the most serious class of online crime under the Online Safety Act.
- Social media firms will have to proactively remove and stop this material appearing on their platforms, or face fines.
- Technology Secretary says rise in abuse “intolerable” and action will help stop generations being “desensitised to their devastating effects”.
New changes to the law will force tech firms to clamp down on the sharing of non-consensual intimate images on their platforms as part of a drive to tackle online sexual offending.
The offence of sharing intimate images without consent will be classified as the most serious type of online offences under the Online Safety Act, meaning platforms will now have to take steps to proactively remove this material, as well as prevent it from appearing in the first place. If they fail to do so under this new law they could face fines.
The strengthening of the law forms part of the government’s commitment to ensure new and existing technologies are safely developed and help keep people safer online, particularly women and girls with more than one in three women in the UK having experienced abuse online.
The changes will help tackle sexual offending and the normalisation of misogynistic material online as part of the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.
The changes will help tackle sexual offending and the normalisation of misogynistic material online as part of the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips said:
Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones said:
The Online Safety Act will require social media firms and search services to protect their users from illegal material on their sites, with protections due to come into force from Spring next year. The most serious forms of illegal content are classed as ‘priority offences’ meaning regulated online platforms will have additional duties to proactively remove and stop from appearing on their sites.
Today’s move will mean intimate image offences are treated as priority offences under the Act, putting them on the same footing as public order offences and the sale of weapons and drugs online.
If firms fail to comply with their duties the regulator Ofcom will have robust enforcement powers, including imposing fines that could reach up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue.
Georgia Harrison, journalist and advocate for online safety and the prevention of violence against women and girls, said:
Notes to editors
Women and girls with more than one in three women in the UK having experienced abuse online. Read Refuge, 2021, Unsocial Spaces for more details.
Offences of sharing intimate images without consent appear under section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
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Published 13 September 2024