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Luu, T.J.

Tech firms must remove ‘revenge porn’ in 48 hours or risk being blocked, says Starmer

infonewsLLM-Specific

policysafety

Source: The Guardian TechnologyFebruary 18, 2026

Summary

The UK government plans to require technology companies to remove deepfake nudes and revenge porn (nonconsensual intimate images) within 48 hours of being flagged, or face fines up to 10% of their revenue or being blocked in the UK. Ofcom (the UK media regulator) will enforce these rules, and victims can report images directly to companies or to Ofcom, which will alert multiple platforms at once. The government will also explore using digital watermarks to automatically detect and flag reposted nonconsensual images, and create new guidance for internet providers to block sites that host such content.

Solution / Mitigation

Companies will be legally required to remove nonconsensual intimate images no more than 48 hours after being flagged. Ofcom will explore ways to add digital watermarks to flagged images to allow automatic detection when reposted. Victims can report images either directly to tech firms or to Ofcom (which will trigger alerts across multiple platforms). Internet providers will receive new guidance on blocking hosting for sites specializing in nonconsensual real or AI-generated explicit content. Platforms already use hash matching (a process that assigns videos a unique digital signature) for child sexual abuse content, and this same technology could be applied to nonconsensual intimate imagery.