Campaigners, including former minister Jess Phillips and the National Crime Agency, are urging the UK government to require device-level artificial intelligence to intercept child abuse imagery. This push follows findings from the Internet Watch Foundation showing that three-quarters of abuse material is captured on adult-owned devices rather than self-generated by minors. The proposed software would block illicit material instantly without logging or transmitting user data, but civil liberties advocates like Big Brother Watch dispute claims that such measures safeguard encryption and privacy.
Key points
Mandating automated detection on all British hardware aims to stop the exploitation of ch…: Mandating automated detection on all British hardware aims to stop the exploitation of children before irreversible harm occurs.
Current laws focusing on minors sharing images fail to address the majority of abuse cont…: Current laws focusing on minors sharing images fail to address the majority of abuse content produced directly on adult devices.
Civil liberties groups warn that integrating automated scanning tools into operating syst…: Civil liberties groups warn that integrating automated scanning tools into operating systems threatens personal privacy and digital encryption standards.
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Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has joined calls from campaigners for the government to back new technology that blocks the live-streaming of child sexual abuse.
The UK National Crime Agency has flagged the UK as the third biggest market in the world, external for live-streamed abuse, where children are sexually abused live on camera to order.
Device-level blockers can prevent this material being filmed and viewed on smartphones, laptops and tablets in the first place, Phillips said, at the launch of a policy report in Parliament.
Anti-abuse campaigners claim keeping the technology at device level maintains privacy and encryption. Civil liberties campaigners Big Brother Watch dispute this.
The government has already legislated to demand tech firms like Apple and Google, which develop the operating systems of most smartphones used in the UK, block under-18s from taking or sharing nude images on smartphones and other devices.
However, three-quarters of child sexual abuse material (CSA) was not self-generated but likely captured on adult devices, according to 2025 research from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which works to eliminate child sexual…
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