There appears to be a concerted effort afoot in various jurisdictions across the globe to implement a more aggressive form of online censorship, all in a bid to protect minors, and Apple’s iPhones and Google OS-powered Android phones are right in the thick of this emerging paradigm.
The UK wants Apple and Google to install a nudity-blocking algorithm/software on iPhones and Android smartphones
The Financial Times is now reporting that the UK government wants Apple and Google to do the following as a part of its broader push to protect minors and combat violence against women and girls:
- Install nudity-detecting algorithm/software on smartphones to prevent minors from taking photos or sharing images of the human genitalia.
- Block explicit images on electronic devices by default.
These measures are expected to rope-in other tech OEMs as well, especially as the UK government eventually wants explicit imagery blocked on the entire gamut of devices and not just phones.
Under the emerging framework, adults would need to verify their identity – via biometrics or official IDs – to access explicit content.
These developments come amid heightened fears of minors being exploited or groomed by adults in what amounts to worrying cases of pedophilia.
HMD Global, the company that sells Nokia-branded phones, already installs a software on its phones called HarmBlock, which automatically detects and blocks explicit content.
Do note that the UK already mandates age-checks for accessing pornographic content online. These upcoming measures, however, expand control over all kinds of explicit content and not just pornographic ones.
Meanwhile, Australia has already banned under-16s from using social media under a new law. And, in the US, the House Energy and Commerce Committee continues to deliberate on a number of bills that would:
- Install a comprehensive guardrail around online platforms, one that would force such platforms to implement measures that protect youngsters from violence, fraud, obscenity, gambling, drugs, and alcohol.
- Ban the social media accounts of all under-16 users.
- Institute a national age verification mechanism for sexually explicit websites.
- Give parents more control over their child’s communication with other players in online gaming.
- Force Apple and Google to implement an age verification mechanism for all smartphone users in the US.
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