Children First welcomes UK Government plans to take down abusive images within 48 hours
In response to the UK Government's plans to give tech firms 48 hours to take down abusive images or face fines, Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive of Children First, Scotland's national children's charity, said:
“Children First welcomes new measures requiring tech companies to remove all non-consensual sexual or intimate images within 48 hours. It is alarming that a large proportion of these images involve babies, children and young people and important to remember that children can never give informed consent.
“These images are only part of the problem and although an important step, the scale of sexual abuse requires much tougher action to protect children on and offline. We are deeply concerned by the growing volume of violent and abusive material online, including the use of AI to create or manipulate sexual images of children. We need much stronger prevention and detection systems to keep our children safe from abusers as well as sanctions for tech companies who enable this to happen.
“Quickly removing these images is a vital step in limiting further distress and preventing them from spreading any further. But this must sit within a much stronger approach to tackling the attitudes and behaviours that drive and enable sexual abuse, the very same attitudes that contribute to violence against women and girls. Protecting children online must be at the heart of any response.
“If any parent or carer is worried about online safety, Children First is here to help. You can contact our support line for advice by calling 08000 28 22 23 or start a webchat at childrenfirst.org.uk.”