UK Imposes 48-Hour Deadline on Social Media Giants to Remove Intimate Images

New Legal Regulations and Heavy Sanctions The UK government has announced a comprehensive legal plan targeting social media platforms to enhance the safety of women and girls. According to the draft, technology companies will be required to delete intimate images shared without an individual's consent within a maximum of 48 hours after receiving a removal request. Deterrent sanctions are on the table for companies that fail to comply. Platforms violating the rules could face administrative fines of up to 10 percent of their global annual revenue. Additionally, blocking access to the platform's services nationwide remains an option in cases of continued violations. Automatic Blocking with a Single Notification The new system aims to alleviate the burden on victims. Under the planned model, a single notification stating that content was shared without consent will be sufficient. This notification is intended to ensure the simultaneous removal of the image from multiple platforms and the automatic prevention of future uploads using technological tools. Ofcom, the UK's media regulator, plans to categorize such content alongside child abuse and terrorism materials. This approach will mandate tech giants to deploy advanced automated filtering systems to prevent the recirculation of non-consensual intimate content.