A new law will require tech firms to take down intimate images shared without a victim’s consent within 48 hours.

Thanks to an amendment to the  Crime and Policing Bill, companies will be legally required to remove this content no more than 48 hours after it is flagged to them.

Companies that fail to act could face fines up to 10 per cent of their qualifying worldwide revenue or have their services blocked in the UK.

The government also plans to make sure that victims will only need to report an image once. This would mean where an image is reported, they are removed across multiple platforms in one go, and from then on, they are automatically deleted at every new upload.

In order to achieve this, plans are currently being considered by Ofcom for these kinds of images to be treated with the same severity as child sexual abuse and terrorism content, digitally marking them so that any time someone tries to repost them, they will be automatically taken down.

Prime Minister Keir Stamer said: "As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw firsthand the unimaginable, often lifelong pain and trauma violence against women and girls causes. As Prime Minister, I will leave no stone unturned in the fight to protect women from violence and abuse.

"The online world is the frontline of the 21st century battle against violence against women and girls. That’s why my government is taking urgent action: against chatbots and ‘nudification’ tools.

"Today we are going further, putting companies on notice so that any non-consensual image is taken down in under 48 hours.

"Violence against women and girls has no place in our society, and I will not rest until it is rooted out."

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: "The days of tech firms having a free pass are over. Because of the action we are taking platforms must now find and remove intimate images shared without consent within a maximum of 48 hours.

"No woman should have to chase platform after platform, waiting days for an image to come down. Under this government, you report once and you’re protected everywhere.

"The internet must be a space where women and girls feel safe, respected, and able to thrive."