Build something that doesn’t exist. Don’t collect any data while you do it. Get it wrong and the CEO could face criminal charges. That’s close to the ultimatum the UK government handed Apple and Google on June 8. The two companies have three months to introduce device-level protections blocking nudity across every smartphone and tablet sold in the UK. If they don’t, the government will legislate—including fines and, as a last resort, criminal liability for tech bosses.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the move at London Tech Week, telling the firms:
“If they choose not to, then we will act and change the law.”
The policy reads cleanly. The execution doesn’t.
What’s already on your child’s phone, and what isn’t
