Starmer calls for device-level controls on UK phones
Key Points
- Keir Starmer has called on tech companies to introduce device-level controls preventing children from taking, sharing or viewing nude images.
- Starmer said the government will change the law if tech firms do not act.
- The announcement was made in a speech at the start of London Tech Week.
- The move follows Jess Phillips' resignation as safeguarding minister last month, after she criticised the pace of action on the plan.
- Starmer also praised the UK's tech investment record, citing it as the third-largest technology economy in the world.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on tech companies operating in the UK to introduce device-level controls that prevent children from taking, sharing or viewing nude images, warning that the government will legislate if firms fail to act.
Starmer made the announcement during a speech marking the start of London Tech Week on Monday (8 June).
“This government will not stand by while children are put at risk online,” Starmer said. “Today I am calling on the tech companies to introduce device-level controls to prevent children from taking, sharing or viewing nude images. And if they don’t act, we will.”
In his speech, Starmer said the ability of children with phones to send and receive nude images was a long-standing problem that he rejected treating as unavoidable.
“For too long, people have been told that is simply the price of modern tech, that nothing can be done, that government is powerless, that parents just have to accept it,” Starmer said. “I reject that completely, because tech should adapt to the needs of society, not the other way around.”
Starmer said he was calling on tech companies operating in the country to introduce device controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images.
“Because this is not an impossible challenge. These are some of the most innovative companies in the world and I believe they can solve it,” he said.
He added that the government would change the law if firms chose not to act.
“But if they choose not to, then we will act and we will change the law because when it comes to the safety of our children, standing by is not an option,” Starmer said.
The announcement follows the resignation of Jess Phillips as Safeguarding Minister last month. At the time, Phillips criticised Starmer for not acting more quickly to implement the plan, saying she had been pushing for it more than a year ago.
Starmer also used the speech to praise the tech entrepreneurs in his audience and the UK’s record on technology investment. He said Britain was the third-largest technology economy in the world, and that UK start-ups had raised close to half of all European tech investment this year.
“Each one of those investments is an endorsement of British talent, of British industry, and of the approach that Britain is taking,” Starmer said.
He described the technological shift as a revolution “with the potential to transform lives, to strengthen communities, and create opportunities right across the country”, and said Britain was uniquely placed to lead it.
