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Written question asked by Jess Asato (Labour) on Monday, 1 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 3 June 2026. It was answered by Kanishka Narayan (Labour) on Thursday, 11 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Intimate Image Abuse: Financial Services

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the report by AI Forensics entitled ‘Harassment as Infrastructure’, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of payment providers facilitating payments for access to non-consensual intimate image.

Answer

The Online Safety Act places clear duties on in-scope services to tackle illegal content, including non-consensual intimate image abuse, backed by Ofcom’s strong enforcement powers. Where services fail to comply, Ofcom can seek Business Disruption Measures to restrict access to those services, including measures which may require third-party payment providers to withdraw services from non-compliant sites.

We are strengthening the regulatory framework through new criminal offences and a 48-hour removal duty, alongside Ofcom’s use of hash-matching to prevent re-sharing.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
5696
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Financial services Intimate image abuse
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk