Starmer calls time on tech firms over child safety controls

Sir Keir Starmer has escalated his confrontation with Big Tech, demanding sweeping new device controls that would restrict how children use smartphones and force technology companies to take direct responsibility for preventing the sharing of explicit content online.

In a speech at London Tech Week, the Prime Minister signalled that ministers are prepared to intervene far more aggressively in how social media platforms and device manufacturers operate in the UK, arguing that current safeguards are not sufficient to protect young users.

He called specifically for companies to introduce stronger default protections, including controls that would prevent children from sending or receiving nude images via messaging services on smartphones.

For Downing Street, the issue is fast becoming one of the defining early battlegrounds in its relationship with the global tech industry: how far the state should go in reshaping digital architecture to enforce child safety standards.

Speaking directly to executives and industry leaders, Sir Keir rejected what he described as the long-standing assumption that harms associated with smartphones were an unavoidable consequence of modern technology.

“For too long, people have been told that is simply the price of modern tech,” he said. “That nothing can be done, that government is powerless, that parents just have to accept it. I reject that completely.”

Starmer added: “That is why today I am calling on tech companies operating in this country to introduce device controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images.

“Because this is not an impossible challenge. These are some of the most innovative companies in the world and I believe they can solve it.

“But if they choose not to, then we will act and we will change the law because when it comes to the safety of our children, standing by is not an option.”

His remarks mark one of the clearest signals yet that the Government is prepared to move beyond voluntary codes of conduct and place more stringent obligations on platforms and device makers themselves.

The focus on explicit imagery reflects growing concern in Whitehall over the ease with which content can be created, shared and amplified among minors through encrypted messaging apps and social media platforms.

Officials argue that existing parental controls and platform moderation tools are too inconsistent, often relying on opt-in settings that are rarely activated, leaving children exposed by default.

The proposed approach would shift that burden, pushing companies to build restrictions directly into devices and services rather than relying on users to configure safeguards after purchase.

However, the plans are likely to provoke resistance from parts of the technology sector, which has long argued that broad device-level restrictions risk being both technically complex and potentially intrusive for users.

Industry groups are expected to warn that such measures could raise questions about privacy, over-blocking of legitimate content, and the practicalities of enforcement across global platforms operating under differing national laws.

The announcement also adds to a wider pattern of regulatory pressure building against Big Tech in the UK, as governments across Europe and the United States increasingly scrutinise the role of digital platforms in shaping behaviour, especially among younger users.

For Starmer, the political calculation is equally clear. Online safety has become one of the few areas where there is broad cross-party consensus for tougher intervention, and where public concern over children’s exposure to harmful content continues to rise.

But the challenge for ministers will lie in turning broad principles into enforceable technical standards without alienating an industry that underpins much of the UK’s digital economy.

The Prime Minister’s intervention suggests that Downing Street is prepared to test that balance.

Whether Silicon Valley is willing to comply—or to resist—will determine how far this new phase of digital regulation ultimately goes.