Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following their decision to mandate on-device nudity safeguards, what consideration they have given to requiring the use of the same technology to deploy real-time age estimation so that when an adult’s phone is picked up by a child it will automatically disable applications that are harmful to children.

The government recognises the benefits of device-level protections and we are encouraged by industry developments which make smartphones safer for children.

On 8 June, we committed to working with operating system providers over the next three months so that Britain is the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to take, share and view naked pictures on devices.

Where evidence demonstrates that further action is necessary to protect children and the wider public, we will not hesitate to act.