Through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, the Government banned the creation and supply of intimate image generators, often known as nudification apps. The criminalisation of such tools is the first of its kind in the world, and the developers and suppliers of such tools face up to 3 years in prison and an unlimited fine.

This offence was commenced on 29th June 2026 and targets the developers and suppliers who profit from the profound distress and victimisation of others, particularly women and girls. On 15th October 2026, the Home Office published non-statutory guidance for the police to support the implementation of the new criminal offence.

Under the Online Safety Act’s illegal content duties, user-to-user services such as social media sites will have to take down content they have been alerted to or are aware of that offers purported intimate image generators (e.g. nudification apps) and search engines will have to reduce the visibility of search results linked to these tools, regardless of where the social media, search, or nudification service is based.

The government is taking robust action to tackle AI-generated intimate image abuse. Building on existing offences covering the sharing of intimate images without consent, we have introduced offences criminalising the non-consensual creation of AI intimate images, in addition to banning so-called “nudification” tools and making the sharing of such content a priority offence.

Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must swiftly remove illegal content, and regulated providers will soon be required to remove reported intimate image abuse content as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 48 hours.

The Government has committed to preventing under 18s accessing sexual relationship chatbots and prevent access to general purpose AI models providing sexually explicit interactions to under 18s.

The Government is working quickly to deliver this policy, including establishing relevant definitions. The necessary regulations will be laid in 2027 through the affirmative secondary legislation process.

This Government recognises that harmful sexual behaviour by children requires early, decisive and preventative action. That is why we introduced revised statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education guidance requiring all secondary pupils to be taught about the law relating to online image and information sharing, including AI generated sexual imagery and deepfakes. This involves young people understanding the potentially serious consequences of acquiring or generating indecent or sexual images of someone under 18, including the potential for criminal charges and severe penalties, including imprisonment.

The Sentencing Code sets out the statutory framework for sentencing, whilst the independent Sentencing Council produces and evaluates sentencing guidelines as per its statutory duty. The Government’s position is that courts must have access to interventions that are robust and effective. That is why, as set out in the Youth Justice White Paper published in May 2026, we intend to strengthen the availability of more intensive sentences, giving youth courts greater access to impose rigorous interventions that tackle offending behaviour and reduce reoffending.

There is a lack of consensus about what constitutes ‘intimate audio’ as a concept. However, depending on the circumstances, this type of abuse may already fall within a number of existing offences where audio recordings are used to harass or blackmail. Communications offences may also apply.

The Government routinely keeps the criminal law under review. We recognise the concerns about intimate audio abuse and will continue to engage with law enforcement agencies and third sector groups to better understand the nature of the problem and any challenges in addressing it.

There is a lack of consensus about what constitutes ‘intimate audio’ as a concept. However, depending on the circumstances, this type of abuse may already fall within a number of existing offences where audio recordings are used to harass or blackmail. Communications offences may also apply.

The Government routinely keeps the criminal law under review. We recognise the concerns about intimate audio abuse and will continue to engage with law enforcement agencies and third sector groups to better understand the nature of the problem and any challenges in addressing it.

There is a lack of consensus about what constitutes ‘intimate audio’ as a concept. However, depending on the circumstances, this type of abuse may already fall within a number of existing offences where audio recordings are used to harass or blackmail. Communications offences may also apply.

The Government routinely keeps the criminal law under review. We recognise the concerns about intimate audio abuse and will continue to engage with law enforcement agencies and third sector groups to better understand the nature of the problem and any challenges in addressing it.

A range of criminal offences may apply where material depicts, or appears to depict, a child in a sexualised or pornographic context, including offences relating to indecent images of children under the Protection of Children Act 1978 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Whether an offence has been committed will depend on the specific facts of the case, including the nature of the material and the context in which it was created, shared, or possessed.

In addition, offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 may also be relevant where the circumstances indicate that sexual activity involving or in the presence of a child has taken place.

The Online Safety Act 2023 also places robust duties on online platforms to tackle illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.

The Government keeps the criminal law under review to ensure children are appropriately protected and remains committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse wherever they occur.

This Government is unequivocal in its commitment to protecting children from online sexual abuse. The previous Prime Minister announced on 8 June 2026 that the UK would become the first country in the world where it is impossible for children to take, share or view nude images on their devices. Government has engaged collaboratively with tech companies over the past three months, to explore how they can expand implement technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport today (8 September) reiterated this commitment in an oral statement to the House. Since June, officials from the Home Office and DCMS have overseen an unprecedented work programme with Apple and Google, working with senior leaders and engineers to explore new ways of preventing child sexual abuse and strengthening protections for children online.

These proposals are a step in the right direction, but do not meet the scale of this government’s ambition. This government is therefore now preparing primary legislation to require companies to build in device operating system-level protections for children. In the meantime, we are also pursing secondary legislation to require any apps that children use to prevent them from accessing or sharing nudity.

This work will prevent predators from being able to exploit and abuse victims through their devices, as well as stopping children from being able to access pornography. Adults will still be able to take, share or view nude content through an age verification process. This will deliver on the commitment we made in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy – Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy - GOV.UK.

The Government is committed to tackling child sexual abuse and protecting the public from harms posed by emerging technologies. Through implementing the provisions set out in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 the Government will enable organisations authorised by the Home Secretary to test AI models for child sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate imagery and extreme pornography.

As this is the first regime of its kind and given the highly sensitive nature of the material that may be generated during testing the defence will only be granted once the necessary safeguards and operational arrangements are in place.

My department is working closely with industry and the third sector to establish a robust regime which we plan to launch as soon as it is safe and practical to do so, subject to Parliamentary scheduling.

This Government is taking robust action to tackle the growing threat of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including where offenders use innocent images of children to create sexualised or abusive content.

The law is crystal clear: child sexual abuse material is illegal regardless of whether it is produced using artificial intelligence or any other means. Law enforcement agencies will pursue those who create, possess, distribute or use such material to facilitate further offending, including blackmail and coercion.

Through the Crime and Policing Act, we have introduced a new offence targeting AI models designed or adapted to generate child sexual abuse material, helping to prevent this abuse at its source. We have also taken action to ban so-called "nudify" tools, which can be used to create sexually explicit images from posted images, including images of children.

In addition, we have introduced a technology testing defence to enable authorised organisations, child protection charities and other AI safety companies to safely test AI systems and identify vulnerabilities within AI models. This supports the development of stronger safeguards to prevent AI systems from being able to generate child sexual abuse material in the first place.

Online services also have duties under the Online Safety Act to assess risks and implement proportionate measures to protect users, particularly children. They are also required to tackle illegal content on their platforms, including by implementing effective systems and processes to reduce the risk of illegal content being shared across public and private spaces, and by providing users with clear and accessible reporting mechanisms.

The Government is also working closely with industry, law enforcement, child protection organisations and the AI Security Institute to understand AI risks and improve safeguards across the AI ecosystem, to reduce opportunities for offenders to create, distribute and profit from AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

This Government is taking robust action to tackle the growing threat of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including where offenders use innocent images of children to create sexualised or abusive content.

The law is crystal clear: child sexual abuse material is illegal regardless of whether it is produced using artificial intelligence or any other means. Law enforcement agencies will pursue those who create, possess, distribute or use such material to facilitate further offending, including blackmail and coercion.

Through the Crime and Policing Act, we have introduced a new offence targeting AI models designed or adapted to generate child sexual abuse material, helping to prevent this abuse at its source. We have also taken action to ban so-called "nudify" tools, which can be used to create sexually explicit images from posted images, including images of children.

In addition, we have introduced a technology testing defence to enable authorised organisations, child protection charities and other AI safety companies to safely test AI systems and identify vulnerabilities within AI models. This supports the development of stronger safeguards to prevent AI systems from being able to generate child sexual abuse material in the first place.

Online services also have duties under the Online Safety Act to assess risks and implement proportionate measures to protect users, particularly children. They are also required to tackle illegal content on their platforms, including by implementing effective systems and processes to reduce the risk of illegal content being shared across public and private spaces, and by providing users with clear and accessible reporting mechanisms.

The Government is also working closely with industry, law enforcement, child protection organisations and the AI Security Institute to understand AI risks and improve safeguards across the AI ecosystem, to reduce opportunities for offenders to create, distribute and profit from AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Schedule 14 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 – which enables the Secretary of State to make regulations relating to the reporting and registration of intimate image material - commenced on 29 June 2026, following Royal Assent on 29 April 2026.

The Government scoping exercise on the creation of a register of non-consensual intimate images is underway, and secondary legislation will follow in due course.

Section 66AE of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, as inserted by Part 1 of Schedule 13 to the Crime and Policing Act 2026, creates an offence of making a copy of an intimate photograph or film shared temporarily and will be commenced by regulations as soon as reasonably practicable. We must ensure that there is sufficient time to consider and manage the effect on the criminal justice system and for law enforcement to update guidance and train prosecutors and police officers.

Section 66D of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides information on how to interpret the “sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film” offences in section 66B. Section 66D(2) states, “A person “shares” something if the person, by any means, gives or shows it to another person or makes it available to another person.”

“By any means” would include the sharing of such images without consent using digital tools such as a chatbot, app or other software, if a person has requested or prompted the digital tool to do so, whether as part of the creation of the image or as a separate act.

Section 98 and Section 102 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 will be commenced by regulations as soon as reasonably practicable. We must ensure that there is sufficient time to consider and manage the impact on the criminal justice system and for law enforcement to update guidance as well as train prosecutors and police officers.