Tech firms will soon face stricter legal requirements to prevent people from being subjected to unwanted nudes as the UK Government plans to make cyberflashing a ‘priority offence’ under the Online Safety Act.

The new rules mean that social media platforms and dating apps will be required to take proactive measures to prevent users from viewing unsolicited nude images and sharing these online.

The changes mean ‘cyberflashing’ will be classified as one of the most serious types of online offences, with the Government saying that it is committed to cracking down on this and other forms of online abuse to better protect women and girls in digital spaces.

The Government said that companies could tackle these images by using automated systems that pre-emptively detect and hide the image, or by implementing better moderation tools and stricter content policies.

Under the laws, failing to implement such measures to protect users could lead to fines of up to 10% of companies’ qualifying worldwide revenue, and potentially lead to the blocking of their services in the UK.

“The designation of cyberflashing as a priority offence means that all platforms must take into account the risk of cyberflashing on their platforms, and it is not conditional for platforms to protect users from the risks of it,” said Terry Green, partner at law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman UK.

“This designation may not result in substantial changes for platforms with an existing risk of cyberflashing, as it is a risk that they would have already taken into account. However, it signals the importance for platforms to track new types of illegal harms and priority offences, which is required under the Illegal Content Code of Practice.”

The clamp down comes as new Government figures show almost 1 in 3 girls (32%) aged 12-18 have received unsolicited pictures of male genitals, while 1 in 20 boys (5%) of the same age have also been affected. 

Cyberflashing became a criminal offence in England and Wales in January 2024, when it was made illegal to send unsolicited sexual images with the intent to cause alarm, distress, or for sexual gratification. Perpetrators can face up to two years in prison.

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Essex Police became the first force in the UK to bring a successful prosecution for cyberflashing offences, when early last year a 39-year-old registered sex offender from Basildon pleaded guilty to two counts of cyberflashing, after sending explicit images to a teenage girl and a woman in her 60s via different messaging platforms.

“The internet should never be a breeding ground for harassment and violence,” said Liz Kendall, technology secretary. “No more excuses. Tech companies must make it a priority to stop their platforms from becoming a gateway for these deeply harmful and violating images.”

The move follows news earlier this month that the Government is taking ‘urgent action’ to toughen the Online Safety Act by forcing tech firms to hunt down material that encourages or assists serious self-harm, content that was again made a priority offence.

Recent reports from campaign groups suggest that social media platforms may have a lot of work to do, however, with the Molly Rose Foundation last month accusing Instagram and TikTok ‘putting young lives at risk’ with recommender algorithms it claims push suicide, self-harm and depression content.  

That was followed by another report this week that alleges Instagram’s Teen Account safety features are mostly ineffective, a claim rebuffed by Meta.