Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Rejected
Justification to legally align NCII with CSAM to prompt provider action
Recommendation
For internet infrastructure providers to take the threat of NCII seriously and block access to websites that refuse to take it down, we believe that there is justification in bringing NCII in line with CSAM in law. (Conclusion, Paragraph 56)
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to align NCII with CSAM in law, stating it does not believe criminalising possession would be effective due to practical difficulties and existing powers for image removal.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
Government response: Reject The Government is aware of the view that criminalising the non-consensual possession of these images may help to ensure that they can be removed from the internet after they have been shared. However, we do not believe that in practice this would achieve that outcome, due to the difficulties around establishing whether it was possessed without either consent or a reasonable belief in consent. It is also unclear what this would add, given existing powers that apply once an image has been unlawfully shared online. We are considering carefully how to tackle removal of these images in the most effective way.