Tech companies must eliminate ‘revenge porn’ within 48 hours or face potential blocking, warns Starmer.

Keir Starmer has declared that deepfake nudes and “revenge porn” should be removed from the internet within a strict timeframe of 48 hours. Failure to do so could lead to technology firms facing bans in the UK, which Starmer termed a “national emergency” requiring immediate government action.

If companies allow such harmful images to spread or do not take them down after being notified by victims, they could incur fines in the millions or be completely banned from operating in the UK.

Changes will be introduced to the crime and policing bill to also regulate AI chatbots. For instance, X’s Grok chatbot had been generating nonconsensual images until the UK government threatened action against Elon Musk’s company over the issue.

In a piece for the Guardian, Starmer emphasized that “the burden of tackling abuse must no longer fall on victims.” He insisted that it should be shouldered by the perpetrators and the companies that allow the harm to transpire.

The Prime Minister highlighted the pervasive institutional misogyny that has ingrained itself in our society, which has led to the problem being taken far too lightly. He expressed that “misogyny is often minimized or ignored,” and the grievances of women frequently dismissed as exaggerated or isolated incidents, which perpetuates a culture of silence and complicity.

Government insiders reveal that new powers are expected to be granted to Ofcom by summer, mandating companies to remove flagged content within 48 hours.

Platforms, inclusive of social media and pornography sites, that neglect to act can be penalized with fines reaching up to 10% of their global revenue, or potentially be banned from the UK market.

Victims will be empowered to report these harmful images directly to tech firms or through Ofcom, initiating alerts across various platforms according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

The regulator, Ofcom, is set to oversee the removal of these images, aiming to relieve victims of the burden of repeatedly reporting the same material as it resurfaces online.

There are plans for digital watermarking of “revenge porn” images, which would allow for automatic flagging every time these images are reposted.

New directives will also guide internet providers on how to block sites that notoriously host nonconsensual real or AI-generated explicit content.

The Grok “nudification” feature faced backlash earlier this year, prompting ministers to threaten to ban X if corrective actions were not taken. It was revealed that Grok was being bombarded with about 6,000 requests for bikini images each hour, with many of those requests desiring images of women in indecent poses.

The recent years have seen a surge in the use of nonconsensual real or deepfake images for blackmail against both young men and women, which has been correlated with a disturbing number of suicides, as reported by various charities linking these horrific outcomes.

Starmer noted that it’s heart-wrenching to hear the stories of women and girls seeing their private images plastered across the internet, describing it as a nightmare for any parent.

“More often than not, victims are left to fend for themselves—pursuing action from platform to platform, reporting the same material repeatedly only to find it reappearing elsewhere shortly after. This is not justice. It’s a failure. It sends a harmful message to impressionable youth that women and girls are mere commodities,” Starmer articulated.

Under the upcoming Online Safety Act, the creation or sharing of nonconsensual intimate images will attain the classification of a “priority offence,” placing it alongside child abuse images and terrorism in severity. The legislation does not demand platforms identify these images themselves; they are simply required to act upon them when flagged.

Tech giants like Google, Meta, and X already employ a method known as hash matching—assigning unique digital signatures to problematic content, allowing them to quickly identify and remove it. Although the 48-hour deadline is stringent, countries like India have already mandated social media platforms to eliminate specific deepfake content within three hours.

Anne Craanen, an expert in online misogyny at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, stated, “I think that 48 hours is achievable.” However, she cautioned that this may not necessarily compel companies to respond more swiftly. While it is longer than timelines for removing other content categories, such as terrorist-related material in the EU, it remains to be seen if it will yield timely results.

Craanen noted existing initiatives that utilize hash matching to shield victims of intimate abuse. Still, the challenge lies in coordinating efforts across various tech platforms, ensuring that if an abusive video is uploaded on one site, it can be automatically flagged on others like Reddit.

Hash matching is not infallible, and its effectiveness can be evaded. For example, terrorist groups often disguise their content by adding emojis or slight variations to videos already classified as problematic, complicating the task for hash matching systems.

The emergence of AI tools and deepfakes exacerbates the issue, allowing malicious actors to swiftly alter and disseminate nonconsensual intimate images, making it exceedingly difficult to control their spread, especially during crises like the January Grok incident.

While the law appears to apply broadly to tech platforms, there are uncertainties regarding its enforcement on encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal.

In his commentary, Starmer also expressed a commitment to tackling misogyny within governmental and political spheres. This statement came on the heels of criticism regarding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, despite his prior association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The controversy led to Mandelson’s dismissal after disclosures regarding their close friendship.

Starmer’s administration is in the midst of controversy regarding the selection of Antonia Romeo as the new cabinet secretary. Romeo was previously cleared of bullying allegations nine years ago but remains a contentious figure within the civil service. Advocates claim the scrutiny she faces arises from sexist biases.

The Prime Minister expressed his intention to appoint more women in prominent roles within the government and asserted his resolve to transform the governmental culture, challenging structures that continue to marginalize women’s perspectives. He remarked, “Counting the number of women in high positions isn’t sufficient; what truly matters is whether their perspectives influence decision-making and lead to change.”