Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Conclusion 24
4th Report – Tackling non-consensual intimate image abuse
Published 5 Mar 2025
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Tackling non-consensual intimate image abuse All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Hash matching technology is a crucial tool in preventing non-consensual intimate image abuse. It is unacceptable that so few platforms receive NCII hashes, not least when they are already able to incorporate similar technologies for preventing the sharing of child sexual abuse material. It is obvious to us that accepting hashes for NCII is the right thing to do, irrespective of whether there is legislation or statutory guidance to require it. It is disappointing that companies, in some cases trillion-dollar companies such as Google, have been unable to make that judgement. Such a company has the means to overcome any interoperability issues which currently exist. (Conclusion, Paragraph 124)
From: Women and Equalities Committee, 4th Report – Tackling non-consensual intimate image abuse (HC 336), 5 March 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 20 May 2025 (deadline 5 May 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government gives a mixed response, rejecting a majority of the recommendations while accepting some in full or in part and pointing to existing provisions and the forthcoming VAWG Strategy.
- On the Revenge Porn Helpline, it records "Partial acceptance" and is providing £300,000 for 2025/26 (up from £210,000), with funding beyond that "determined through the Spring Spending Review".
- It rejects bringing online sexual offences and NCII within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, saying this would "fundamentally alter the purpose of the Scheme".
- It rejects a statutory civil process, citing "little evidence" about the British Columbia model and overlap with existing routes, but says it "will consider this further" in developing the VAWG Strategy.
- It accepts the recommendation on nudification apps, saying it is "actively looking at options" and "will update the Committee on this in due course".