The Government has announced that so-called ‘cyberflashing’ will be made a priority offence under the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA).

It was the OSA that first made illegal the sending of unsolicited sexual images with intent to cause alarm, distress, or for sexual gratification, and those found guilty can face up to two years in prison. However, the OSA also grants the Secretary of State the power to designate so-called ‘priority offences’, which reflect what are deemed to be the most serious and prevalent illegal content and activity, against with companies must take specific proactive measures.

Already, priority offences include content relating to, for example, child sexual abuse, terrorism, selling illegal drugs or weapons, and the sharing of intimate images without consent. Only last month, it was announced that content that encourages of assists serious self-harm would be added to the list, as we commented upon here.

The effect of such a designation is that regulated services under the OSA will be required to, among other things, take proportionate measures to prevent individuals from encountering unsolicited nude images in the first place, and to have proportionate systems in place to minimise the length of time during which such content is present. Examples of the sorts of steps that companies could take are provided in the Government press release and include automated systems that pre-emptively detect and hide images, implementing moderation tools, or introducing stricter content policies.

The Statutory Instrument introducing this change is expected to be laid this autumn. To read more, click here.