World News

Speaking at London Tech Week on Monday, Starmer said the plan meant the UK would become the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images.

“Today, I am calling on tech companies operating in this country to introduce vice controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images. Because this is not an impossible challenge,” he said.

It actually is a virtually impossible challenge, even if not literally impossible. Basically the logistics we're talking about is:

For it to fulfill "take": children can't ever use a camera

For it to fulfill "share": children can't share any images or videos digitally, including via text to people they know

For it to fulfill "view": children can't view any images or videos on a digital device

Under the changes, sexual predators will be prevented from being able to exploit and abuse victims through their devices, and children stopped from being able to access pornography, the Home Office said. Adults will still be able to take, share or view nude content once they have verified their age.

And as if by magic, the sexual predators will cease to exist. Including the abusers who know the children, which from everything I've ever heard over the years, is the more common source of child abuse.

This is 100% (claiming to) treat the symptoms without addressing the root of the problem at all.

Neither Apple nor Google offers a nudity-blocking system that works across the entire operating system.

Yeah because that's an absurd request for technology. Even with privacy issues aside, it's just ridiculous to expect an automated system to block human nudity specifically. Not even getting into the fact that there are legitimate cases where nudity is just nudity, not sexual or sexual exploitation.

Reminds me of the push in the US for banning abortion. "We gotta protect the children," but the logistics of the ban itself, the consequences of enforcing such a thing, are brushed aside. These pants on fire lying servants of empire and capital are afraid that empire and capitalism in decay is going to lead to revolt and they'd rather put more and more money and resources into surveillance and policing than do even mild reforms.