The letter outlines the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade, and the ways in which online service providers will be instrumental in supporting the government to reach these ambitions. 

Kendall’s letter referred to a range of online abuse that would be tackled, including misogynistic abuse and sexual violence, pile-ons and coordinated harassment, stalking and coercive control, and image-based sexual abuse.

The Online Safety Act became law in 2023 with the aim of regulating harmful and illegal content online.  It introduced legal duties for platforms to protect users (especially children) from illegal content, abuse, and harmful material online.

Kendall shared in her letter how the Online Safety Act was developing to increase protections for women and girls. New offences have been added to the Act, including the prohibition of showing strangulation and semen-defacing images in pornography. 

Kendall confirmed that new developments in the framework will ensure the UK leads the way in tackling intimate image abuse.

It is a criminal offense to create, share or threaten to share sexually explicit deepfakes without consent. Online service providers must now ensure this content does not appear online, and that it is removed promptly if it does. This development puts the onus on both the online user and the platforms these images are shared on. It was also announced at the end of 2025 that The Crime and Policing Bill would be amended to ban nudification tools.

Kendall stated these developments will put victims first and avoid victims’ requests for non-consensual, explicit image removal from being ignored. Under the new legislation, online service providers have 48 hours to remove this content. 

Kendall acknowledged the tall ambition of halving violence against women and girls, stating that transformation had to happen across every part of society, but that online services had a huge part to play.  

Kendall urged online service providers to refer to Ofcom’s report A Safer Life Online for Women and Girls: Practical Guidance for Tech Companies. She suggested the recommendations outlined in the report should be online service providers first priorities, requiring immediate implementation. 

Guidance from Ofcom was extensive and included practical steps such as “conducting ‘abusability’ evaluations before launching new features and services” and “demonetising user-generated content which promotes misogynistic abuse and sexual violence”.

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Kendall set a strong call to action, ending the letter with “I expect all platforms to implement Ofcom’s guidance by the end of this year at the latest.

“I know that tech companies have the ability and the technical tools to block and delete online misogyny. We must not fail to act and let another generation down on this critical issue. 

“So my message is simple: make your platforms safer for women and girls. I will monitor your progress closely to ensure change is delivered on this critical agenda. Women and girls should be able to be online without fear of violence, abuse or misogyny. Tech companies have a responsibility to make this happen”.