The UK government plans to hold senior technology executives personally liable, including possible jail time, if their platforms fail to remove non-consensual intimate images when ordered by the regulator, according to a report by Reuters.

The proposal will be introduced as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, and is expected to be debated in Parliament. If approved, executives who ignore Ofcom’s enforcement decisions under the Online Safety Act could face criminal penalties, thereby expanding accountability beyond corporate fines to individual leadership.

Stricter enforcement push: This builds on earlier rules, introduced in February, that require platforms to take down such content within 48 hours of being notified. Authorities can already fine companies that fail to act up to 10% of their global revenue or block them in the UK.

The new step shifts accountability from companies to individuals in leadership roles, increasing pressure for compliance. The government says this is necessary because victims often struggle to permanently remove such content despite existing laws that criminalise the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

Broader online safety concerns: The move comes amid broader debates about online safety, including discussions on restricting access to social media for users under 16 and tackling the spread of AI-generated explicit content.

The UK online safety minister Kanishka Narayan said: “Too many women have endured the distress of having intimate images shared online without their consent. This is not an optional requirement; it’s a duty that every tech leader must take seriously.”

Separately, the government also indicated plans to criminalise certain types of explicit content, including pornography depicting incest or involving adults role-playing as children.

In contrast, India’s approach focuses on platform obligations rather than executive liability. In November 2025, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a standard procedure under the IT Rules requiring intermediaries to remove or disable access to non-consensual intimate imagery within 24 hours of receiving a complaint, a requirement that is stricter than the UK’s proposed 48-hour deadline. The framework also outlines reporting channels through law enforcement, intermediaries, and the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, and introduces measures such as hash-based detection to prevent re-uploads.

However, enforcement gaps remain, particularly with AI-generated content. A December 2025 review found that app stores continued to host deepfake tools capable of generating non-consensual sexual imagery despite their platform policies prohibiting such content. The current framework largely relies on intermediary due diligence and victim reporting, with limited clarity on actions taken against distribution platforms such as app stores.

Implementation challenges also persist. A government response under the Right to Information Act confirmed that key infrastructure, such as hash-based databases designed to track such content, is still under development. It also noted limited public information on privacy safeguards for data-sharing systems like the Sahyog Portal.

India further strengthened its regulatory framework on February 10, 2026, when the MeitY notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, explicitly bringing synthetically generated information, including deepfakes and non-consensual intimate imagery, within the due diligence obligations of intermediaries.

The amendments came into force on February 20, 2026, providing platforms a 10-day compliance window. The rules significantly shorten response timelines, requiring certain takedown actions in as little as two to three hours, and mandate proactive technical measures, as well as prominent labelling and provenance mechanisms for permitted synthetic content. These changes mark a shift from a purely reactive takedown approach to a more proactive and time-bound compliance regime for online platforms.

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