Jess Phillips, the former safeguarding minister, told the World at One that she believed that Google. Apple, the two companies that control the operating systems on almost all smartphones that are sold, could very quickly install the software that would stop them being used by children to take naked pictures.
But she said, having worked on this issue for about 18 months (see 12.19pm ), she had heard “every single corner-cutting excuse, work-around in the book from tech companies. those who seek to represent them” and so she expected further foot-dragging.
She said she would like to contribute to drafting the legislation to force them to act if they do not do so voluntarily.
She went on to say she would only believe the ban was actually happening when “a child picks up their phone, tries to take a naked image of themselves because they’ve been groomed to do it,. they won’t be able to do it”.
But, if the ban does come into force, it could be tranformational, she said.
Referring to figures showing that 91% of online child sexual abuse reports refer to self-generated content. she said she expected online abuse rates to “plummet” under this plan.
double quotation mark We have the opportunity here in a matter of months to basically eliminate child sexual abuse [online] in the UK.
And what is more is that, I cannot see a way that if we do this – when we do this, I should say – in the UK that phone manufacturers. countries around the world are going to say, ‘I’ll tell you what, we’ll import the phones that are good for paedohiles.’
So I don’t think we’ll just get rid of 91% of child abuse. I think we have the potential in what we’re going to do –. this is what I fought so hard for it – to end online child sex abuse, to cut child sex abuse around the world so dramatically.
Catherine Atkinson, the victims minister, was also on Radio 4’s the World at One today. Like Jess Phillips (see 1.59pm ). she also said the new nude images requirement for phone providers – to be imposed by law, if they don’t comply voluntarily – could be a game changer in the battle against online child sexual abuse.
double quotation mark I think it’s a really significant pillar. There’s no point in asking a young girl, a child, to send a photograph if they cannot take one, they cannot share it. they can’t even see it. This will be such a significant change.
The Department for Education has opened a “call for evidence” as part of an inquiry that will lead to the production of advice about when children should be given their first smartphone,. how they should manage their screen use generally. It will be led by Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, and Prof Russell Viner. De Souza and Viner recently produced guidance on screen time for under-5s.
In an interview this morning. de Souza said that she would like to see children under the age of 18 protected from harmful social media platforms. (See 9.16am.)
In its news release, the DfE says:
double quotation mark New polling published today shows that 86% support the government’s screen use guidance for under-fives. while 82% say it is already helping families build healthier habits for young children.
The need for support is clear. While 96% of parents believe their child benefits from being online, fewer than three in ten think the benefits outweigh the risks when it comes to social media, messaging. video-sharing platforms.
The call for evidence will also seek views on screen use in schools, recognising that children’s digital lives span both home. education. Evidence gathered will help inform the new guidance as well as wider work to ensure technology used in classrooms supports learning, improves outcomes. protects children from harm.
There is information about how to respond to the call for evidence here.
Jess Phillips, the former safeguarding minister, told the World at One that she believed that Google. Apple, the two companies that control the operating systems on almost all smartphones that are sold, could very quickly install the software that would stop them being used by children to take naked pictures.
But she said, having worked on this issue for about 18 months (see 12.19pm ), she had heard “every single corner-cutting excuse, work-around in the book from tech companies. those who seek to represent them” and so she expected further foot-dragging.
She said she would like to contribute to drafting the legislation to force them to act if they do not do so voluntarily.
She went on to say she would only believe the ban was actually happening when “a child picks up their phone, tries to take a naked image of themselves because they’ve been groomed to do it,. they won’t be able to do it”.
But, if the ban does come into force, it could be tranformational, she said.
Referring to figures showing that 91% of online child sexual abuse reports refer to self-generated content. she said she expected online abuse rates to “plummet” under this plan.
double quotation mark We have the opportunity here in a matter of months to basically eliminate child sexual abuse [online] in the UK.
And what is more is that, I cannot see a way that if we do this – when we do this, I should say – in the UK that phone manufacturers. countries around the world are going to say, ‘I’ll tell you what, we’ll import the phones that are good for paedohiles.’
So I don’t think we’ll just get rid of 91% of child abuse. I think we have the potential in what we’re going to do –. this is what I fought so hard for it – to end online child sex abuse, to cut child sex abuse around the world so dramatically.
There will be three urgent questions in the Commons this afternoon. Here is the list, with rough timings.
After 3.30pm: A science minister will respond to a UQ from the Lib Dems’ Munira Wilson about the child phone sexual images ban proposed today.
Around 4.15pm: An environment minister will respond to a UQ from Labour’s Clive Lewis “on systemic failures across the water sector”.
Around 5pm: A Foreign Office minister will respond to a UQ from Jeremy Corbyn about “the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Cuba, following the US naval. financial blockade of the island”.
Kemi Badenoch has said that British politicians and their US counterparts should stop criticising each other publicly.
Asked by the Press Association about JD Vance, the US vice president, claiming that the murder of Henry Nowak was due to the UK government’s immigration policies (or the elite’s “politics of self-hatred”, as he put it),. David Lammy, the deputy PM, subsequently telling Vance he was wrong, Badenoch decided she could not side with either of them.
Instead Badenoch said:
double quotation mark David Lammy has the right to say what he thinks about this issue,. I do think that there is a problem, especially with social media, of so many politicians commenting about what’s happening in other countries.
David Lammy. others made very vocal criticisms about the death of George Floyd, that is the justification that Americans are now using.
I think we just need to stop all of this, this endless war of words publicly.
People should be dignified when talking to foreign counterparts. Let’s keep the negative feedback with our allies in private, otherwise we’re just helping countries like Iran. Russia who want to see us at loggerheads.
Badenoch has not always followed her own advice. Earlier this year. as she was trying to distance herself from her initial support for Trump’s war against Iran, she said the US president’s criticisms of Keir Starmer were “childish”. She also said Trump should have to clear up the “mess” his war had left.
The NAHT union for school leaders has welcomed the ultimatum to tech companies to stop children being able to use mobile phones to take naked images. Sarah Hannafin, the union’s head of policy, said:
double quotation mark NAHT is clear that the ability to send or receive nude images or videos should absolutely be age restricted to safeguard children. young people.
The impact of sharing such content can also spill over into the classroom and playground, affecting children’s happiness and wellbeing.
Where tech firms do not act, it is only right that ministers compel them to do so,. we hope this move will be followed by further action to ensure all devices and online platforms are safe for children following the government’s recent consultation.
More charities campaigning for child safety have welcomed the government’s proposed child phone explicit images ban.
This is from Andy Burrows, chief executive of Molly Rose Foundation.
double quotation mark This is an important step forward for child protection that will keep children safer from the risks of grooming. being coerced into horrendous abuse by sadistic criminals.
And this is from Lynn Perry, chief executive of Barnardo’s.
double quotation mark Far too many children are exposed to harmful sexual content online or are pressured into sharing sexual images. Barnardo’s research found that a quarter of all young people have seen a nude photo which was originally sent privately. then shared further – while around one in seven 13- to 15-year-old girls have been asked to share a nude photo of themselves. The impact of this can last a lifetime.
This is a strong step towards keeping children safe. we look forward to seeing how these proposals will work in practice. Good intentions are not enough, however, so they need to be backed up by strong regulation. enforcement – as well as keeping pace with how quickly online harms evolve.
Other positive comments from child safety campaigners were posted at 10.23am.
At her news conference Daisy Cooper. the Lib Dem deputy leader, cited Jess Phillips (see 12.19pm ) when she said it should not have taken Keir Starmer so long to demand a child phone nudity ban. Cooper said:
double quotation mark I just find it desperately sad that it has taken almost two years for the prime minister to do this,. I think it’s desperately sad that he’s now doing it in the context of a leadership challenge rather than doing it because it’s the right thing to do …
[Phillips] has had been pleading with the prime minister to act on this issue time and time again.
Jess Phillips. who criticised Keir Starmer for dragging his feet over a proposed child phone nudity ban when she resigned as a minister last month, has welcomed the news that Starmer has said, if tech companies don’t act, the government will force them to with legislation. Phillips said she was pushing for this a year ago.
Today she welcomed the announcement. She said:
double quotation mark My reaction is one of relief that this has happened.
I look forward to working with the government on what the legislation needs to be to make sure. no child can ever be tricked in to taking naked images of themselves for the use of global paedophile networks.
In an interview on Sky New s. Phillips said that Starmer had been reluctant to act because of “a sort of squeamishness to sometimes take on big tech”. She said that perhaps her resignation letter had given Starmer “a kick up the bum to do this”.
But she also said she thought Starmer’s time as PM was “coming to an end”.
Governments have two main options when they consider policies that could help families with fuel bills. They can opt for a universal approach. with help for everyone (for example, in the form of a cap on unit prices, or a cash handout). Or they can target help at those most in need (for example with social tariffs. cheaper unit prices for low-income families).
At a press conference this morning Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson,. deputy party leader, announced proposals for a £3bn a year “essential energy guarantee” that would combine elements of both approaches. It is based on a plan proposed by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation thinktank.
Under the Lib Dem plan, everyone would get some of their energy at a reduced rate. The Lib Dems say:
double quotation mark This plan would help protect people from global price shocks by giving every household in Britain a basic energy allowance. equivalent to 50% of average energy consumption, at a discounted rate.
This would save the average family around £100 off their energy bill. helping all households to meet their basic energy needs.
But there would also be extra help for bigger families, and poor households.
double quotation mark Families with children would receive an extra portion of discounted energy for each child. Disabled people. the poorest in society, in receipt of means-tested benefits, would receive a discount on all of their energy usage.
The Lib Dems say this would cost £3bn a year. They would raise £2.5bn for it by clawing back what they describe as a £5bn windfall made by energy companies under Ofgem’s RIIO-2 price control framework. They explain:
double quotation mark A flaw in Ofgem’s “RIIO-2” price control framework has rewarded network operator companies with around £5bn in undeserved profits, which are over. above what Ofgem believes is reasonable. Ofgem mistakenly assumed that network companies’ borrowing costs would rise with inflation,. the companies had already locked in their borrowing at historically low fixed interest rates. When inflation spiked, this allowed network companies to pocket the difference.
The Lib Dems would also get another £500m a year from the windfall on banks they proposed last year.
At her news conference, Cooper challenged potential Labour leadership contenders to accept this plan. She said:
double quotation mark Energy is not a luxury. It’s a basic human need. It’s essential. Every single household in Britain should be able to afford their basic everyday energy needs regardless of what happens in global energy markets,. regardless of who happens to be sitting in No 10 …
Labour’s leadership contenders have a choice: turn a blind eye to the windfall profits of energy network operators. big banks, or step in to guarantee basic dignity for families. Commit to introducing our essential energy guarantee within your first 100 days.
Kemi Badenoch has claimed. Keir Starmer does not have a “proper plan” to stop children using phone to take naked pictures.
Responding to this morning’s announcement. she claimed that a simpler solution would be to stop children under the age of 16 using social media – a policy the Conservatives have been advocating for some time.
Asked about the Starmer plan, she told the Press Association:
double quotation mark I think the move today is an idea without a proper plan behind it.
I don’t want to see children being able to send nudes,. I don’t know exactly how the government is looking at this.
A much simpler way of dealing with these things is getting children off social media rather than piecemeal measures. are tackling the problems issue by issue.
We’ve got to go much further than that.
(Starmer’s proposal is not an alternative to a social media ban for teenagers; a further announcement about a ban. or at least tighter restrictions, is coming soon. See 8.27am.)
Asked whether she would back a ban on social media that goes up to the age of 18. as suggested by the children’s commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza (see 9.16am ), Badenoch replied: “I think that 16 is an appropriate age for children to start using social media.”
Earlier I said that Andy Burnham seems to be winning the Makerfield byelection campaign. (See 8.27am.) That was based in part on the two Survation poll from the constituency. the second of which put Burnham 10 points ahead of Robert Kenyon, his Reform UK rival.
In a new post on his Substack blog, the pollster Peter Kellner looks at those polling figures in detail. The first poll had Burnham three points ahead, but Kellner argues that that there was a glitch with the turnout weighting. that it should have had Burnham six points ahead. Kellner also argues that latest figures show tactical voting is helping Labour. He explains:
double quotation mark When we make that adjustment to the first poll. the story of the by-election so far becomes clear. Tactical switching is underway. At the general election two years ago, the Greens, Liberal Democrats. Conservatives together won 22 per cent of the vote. At the start of the by-election campaign, the figure was already down to ten per cent. Now it is just four.
The five-point rise in Labour’s support in the latest poll matches the fall in Green. Lib Dem support, while smaller changes have seen Reform and Restore up and the Tories down. Overall. tactical voting is helping Labour more because it has now enjoys a near-monopoly of the progressive vote (49 out of 52 per cent), while Reform has been unable to squeeze Restore’s support. The overall left-right balance has stayed the same: Labour plus Green plus Lib Dem remain on 52 per cent. while Reform plus Restore plus Conservative amount to 47 per cent in both polls.
Kellner concludes saying he thinks a “big win” for Burnham, which he defines as Burnham winning with a bigger majority than the combined Reform UK. Restore Britain vote, is “more likely than not”. But he would not bet on it, he says.
And these are from my colleague Jessica Elgot on the Starmer announcement.
double quotation mark Keir Starmer’s speech on nudity apps encapsulates much of Labour’s MPs frustration with him. “Ultimatums” rather than action. Talk big, act small. Perhaps you then eventually do act big but not without losing an awful lot of goodwill in the process.
double quotation mark “Britain back in the heart of Europe” but within my arbitrary red lines. Or abolishing hereditary peers but letting the Tories convert a load to life peers. Workers rights but not implemented for years. All gives the impression of someone dragged kicking and screaming to enact their own policies.
Here is Rajeev Syal ’s story about Keir Starmer’s announcement this morning.
Big Brother Watch, the civil liberties. privacy campaign group, is outraged by the government’s proposal to force tech companies to activate restrictions to stop children using their phones to take naked pictures. Silkie Carlo, its director, said:
double quotation mark Protecting children online is vital,. these are outrageous plans that will fail to address the underlying causes of online harm. This will only result in population-wide ID checks for all of us to use our phones, tablets and laptops.
Put simply, the Labour Government is threatening ID checks for the internet. No one in a democracy should need to show their passport just to get online.
These plans would replace efforts for meaningful tech. parental responsibility with performative, authoritarian government control that children can easily circumvent by accessing adult-registered devices. However, for the UK’s 50 million adults using the internet, this backdoor digital ID requirement would invoke the death of anonymity. internet privacy.
The government’s plan very likely means that unless you submit to intrusive identity checks when setting up your phone or computer, there will be a chokehold on your software. internet access leaving you with a child-locked device. Planned restrictions on messaging, streaming. browsing raise the potential of spyware in our pockets that will be exploited for other purposes before long.
The government mandating that all phones in Britain require ID. surveillance software is a crossing of the Rubicon that would make the UK one of the most authoritarian internet regimes in the world. This extreme technological censorship requires rigorous public and parliamentary scrutiny that is currently totally missing.
Online safety campaigners have welcomed the government’s announcement about forcing tech companies to stop children taking naked pictures on their devices.
This is from Chris Sherwood, chief executive at the NSPCC.
double quotation mark Online grooming, sexual exploitation. the proliferation of child sexual abuse material could be prevented if tech companies did the right thing and introduced nudity blocking technology on children’s phones.
Every day these protections are not in place, more children will continue to face devastating harm in the online world. That’s why we strongly support government’s decision to make it mandatory for these companies to block inappropriate material at device level. This marks a major step forward in our fight against online child sexual abuse.
And this is from Kerry Smith, CEO at the Internet Watch Foundation.
double quotation mark An alarming amount of child sexual abuse material. which our analysts see every day, is self-generated by children as a result of grooming, coercion or manipulation. We need device-level detection and blocking alongside platform-level protections.
That is why we warmly welcome the government’s announcement. see these protections as playing a powerful role in a whole-system response to the threats children face in digital spaces.
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