British Authorities Push iPhone to Require Age Verification for Access to Nudes

JAKARTA - The British government is preparing to go further in the supervision of digital content by encouraging Apple and Google to implement age verification on devices. This, including the iPhone, to prevent access to nude images without user age authentication.

According to a report by the Financial Times, this move is a continuation of the UK's policy which previously required age verification on adult sites. The difference is that this time the focus is directed directly to the level of the mobile operating system, not just to the website.

The government is said to have chosen a persuasive approach, encouraging Apple and Google "voluntarily" to adopt the system, rather than requiring it through harsh regulations.

This initiative is part of the Online Safety Act and is associated with the British government's commitment to suppressing violence against women and children. The initial phase will focus on iOS and Android platforms, with the possibility of expanding to desktop devices later.

Currently, Apple actually provides parental controls that allow restrictions on adult content on the iPhone. However, the British government considers that mechanism to be insufficient, because it relies on manual settings, not age verification that is comprehensive.

The plan is not without criticism. The UK's experience of blocking adult sites in 2025 was a costly lesson. A number of non-adult sites were blocked, and platforms such as Imgur even chose to stop services in the UK rather than implementing an age verification system.

The issue of effectiveness is also in the spotlight. After the blocking rules for adult sites were implemented, VPN usage jumped sharply. Proton VPN recorded an increase in registrations of up to 1,400 percent per hour at the beginning of the policy. Some other users reportedly used fake photos to fool the automatic age detection system.

This has led to the previous policy being seen as more of a visualisation exercise than a real barrier. The UK government now seems to hope that an approach via the device, with direct control at the operating system level, will be more difficult to exploit.

In the long term, Britain is also discussing new regulations regarding VPNs. Officially, the discussion is restrictions on the use of VPNs for children, but the implications could extend to age verification obligations for adult users.

The UK's move follows a global trend. Australia has previously implemented a broad ban on social media for children and adolescents, with responsibility for implementation in the hands of the platform. Apple itself has issued guidelines for developers to comply with the policy.

Official details of the British policy are expected to be announced in the next few days. If realized, the iPhone is no longer just a smartphone, but also a sensor age gateway that determines what can and cannot appear on the screen. In the digital age, identity cards seem to move to the pocket.