Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said the move “rightly places the responsibility on tech companies to act”.
The proposals are being made through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through the House of Lords.
Under the plans, victims would only have to flag an image once, rather than contact different platforms separately.
Tech companies would have to block the images from being re-uploaded once they have been taken down.
The proposal would also provide guidance for internet service providers to be able to block access to sites hosting illegal content, the idea being that this would target rogue websites that currently fall outside of the reach of the Online Safety Act.
Women, girls and LGBT people are disproportionately affected by Intimate Image Abuse (IIA).
A government report in July 2025, external found young men and boys were largely targeted for financial sexual extortion – sometimes referred to as “sextortion” – where a victim is asked to pay money to keep intimate images from being shared online.
A Parliamentary report published in May 2025, external highlighted an increase of 20.9% in reports of intimate image abuse in 2024.
