UK Tightens Rules on Unwanted Sexual Images Online

The UK is stepping up its game against unwanted sexual images online. Starting now, tech companies must actively stop these images from being shared. This is part of the UK's Online Safety Act, which targets big platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X. It also includes dating apps and adult content sites. Cyberflashing, sending unsolicited sexual images, has been a crime in England and Wales since January. Now, it's a top priority. This means platforms must take action before users complain. The goal is to make the internet safer, especially for women and girls. Studies show that one in three teenage girls has received these unwanted images.The UK's media regulator, Ofcom, will decide how platforms must implement these rules. They can also enforce compliance. This crackdown comes as concerns grow over AI-generated sexual content. France is investigating X over deepfake images linked to its chatbot, Grok. The EU has also warned about Grok's "spicy mode, " which may break their rules. UK officials want X to tackle the rise of intimate deepfake images. Regulators in India are also asking X for answers. Meanwhile, Meta, the company behind Facebook, faces a bearish outlook in the medium and long term.