71 Response Not Accepted

Pre-screen material before upload

Recommendation

The government should require industry to pre-screen material before it is uploaded to the internet to prevent access to known indecent images of children.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- In November 2020, the UK government stated that it had launched the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse alongside the Tech Coalition (Government Response to IICSA Internet Report, Home Office, November 2020).
- The Online Safety Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and requires regulated services to take measures to prevent, detect and remove child sexual abuse material (Online Safety Act 2023, Part 4).
- In May 2023, the government confirmed that this recommendation was being addressed through the Online Safety Act (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by claude-opus-4-6 on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Section Reference
F
Response
Not Accepted
Not Accepted UK Government
22 May 2023

On 10 November 2020, the UK government stated that it had launched the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse alongside the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The interim code of practice on tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation and the Voluntary Principles set out the UK government's expectation that all companies will prevent access to known child sexual abuse material, which includes pre-screening. On 12 May 2021, the UK government published a draft Online Safety Bill. The Bill includes a clause that imposes duties on regulated search services with regards to illegal content, including child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The clause requires service providers to have proportionate systems and processes to minimise the risk of users encountering illegal content on their services, because they have been alerted to it or they become aware of it in some other way. A second Inquiry recommendation on pre-screening images online was made (see row 72).

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report The Internet Investigation Report 31 Mar 2020
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Recommendation age 6.0 yrs
Last formal update 1054 days ago