Online safety watchdog, Ofcom, has warned tech firms they only have weeks left to put in place measures to stop illegal intimate images and deepfakes from spreading on their platforms.
Today the regulator is opening an enforcement programme to monitor their efforts to crack down on the spread of such images. By 30 September, online platforms should have automated technology in place known as ‘hash matching’ to detect and prevent the sharing of illegal intimate images, including explicit AI-generated deepfakes. If they don’t have hash matching in place, they must prove that their systems and processes curb the spread of NCII by other equally effective means. Any firms that fail to comply with their legal duties could face significant penalties, including fines of up to 10% of their global annual revenue.
The spread of NCII is just one example of the significant harms that women and girls continue to face online. Evidence shows they are disproportionately subject to attacks and abuse, in some cases preventing them from pursuing jobs they love or having their voice heard online. Ofcom is determined to drive lasting improvements in how tech firms prevent and respond to this abuse, and tackling this issue is a top priority.
Ofcom has partnered with SWGfL, the industry-leading organisation behind hash matching database StopNCII.org and the Revenge Porn Helpline to conduct this work. They will share information, expertise and evidence about effective approaches to tackling intimate image abuse online. Ofcom continues to recommend that platforms use StopNCII’s industry-leading hash matching tool.
Separately, we will, by the end of this year, consult on strengthening our Illegal Harms Codes of Practice to reflect changes to the law requiring platforms to remove non-consensual intimate image content within 48 hours of it being reported.
Further action to protect women and girls online
Our partnerships with civil society have been instrumental in securing better outcomes for women and girls online. Today, we are asking for further evidence from, academics, survivor and victim support groups, and others on how women's and girls' experiences online may have changed since the publication of our Guidance for a Safer Life Online for Women and Girls last year.
The guidance made clear we expect services to take decisive action in areas where improvements are rapidly needed, not only on tackling the spread of intimate image abuse, but also:
- reducing the reach and spread of misogynistic abuse or sexual violence;
- preventing coordinated online pile-ons and harassment;
- strengthening privacy protections, including limiting location-sharing features; and
- improving reporting and support tools for victims.
The evidence gathered on how effectively services are tackling these problems will inform a report, to be published next summer, on progress made by the industry, in reducing online harms to women and girls. If their action falls short, we will consider making formal recommendations to Government on where the Online Safety Act may need to be strengthened. Stakeholders have until 6 November 2026 to respond.
Visit our website to find out more about Ofcom’s action plan to protect women and girls online.
Almudena Lara, Ofcom’s online safety policy development director, said:
“Non-consensual intimate image abuse can have a devastating impact on victims, causing lasting distress and harm.
“Technology companies now have a legal responsibility to put the right tools in place to stop this kind of deeply harmful content spreading on their services. The deadline is fast approaching and firms that ultimately fail to comply with their duties can expect us to take robust action under our enforcement programme, launched today.
“As part of the collective effort to create a safer life online for women and girls in the UK, we are proud to be forging closer working relationships with expert organisations such as SWGfL. To hold platforms to account, we’re also today inviting evidence from women’s advocacy groups and charities on how effectively tech firms are tackling harms that disproportionately affect women and girls, in line with our guidance. We’ll publicly report our findings, alongside other evidence, as planned next year, to inform and direct future further action.”
David Wright, Chief Executive of SWGfL, said:
"Our work through the Revenge Porn Helpline gives us direct, daily insight into this harm, and demand on the Helpline continues to grow sharply, with our research suggesting over 369,000 women in the UK experience this abuse annually. That experience is why prevention matters so much.
Tools like StopNCII.org allow a person to create a digital fingerprint of an intimate image, including AI-generated deepfakes, from their own device, so it can be blocked before it is ever shared, without the image itself leaving their possession. Requiring platforms to adopt hash matching is a vital shift toward stopping this abuse before it spreads, rather than only responding once the damage is already done. The infrastructure is already in place and ready for platforms to use."
For the latest statistics on the prevalence of intimate image abuse: revenge-porn-helpline-2025.pdf
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