Islanders who find humiliating, intimate, or manipulated images or videos of themselves circulating online have discovered there is no clear legal route to get them removed.
That gap is now at the centre of a government consultation on new online safety laws, which ministers say are designed to close a long-standing “grey area” in Jersey law around online privacy.
The Online Harms Consultation runs until 6 March 2026 and sets out the government’s plans to change the laws surrounding online privacy rights and the removal of content.
The proposals would give islanders clearer rights to request the removal of images depicting them, placing legal obligations on social media platforms, websites and search engines to respond quickly – rather than relying on voluntary and inconsistent company policies.
The report accompanying the consultation explained that the island currently has a “grey area” around online privacy, with no clear stipulation of privacy rights in the digital world.
Why does a “grey area” exist?
Jersey law does not currently define online privacy in a clear or consistent way.
That has meant that while some online behaviour may be distressing or harmful, it does not always fall neatly into existing criminal offences. At the same time, civil remedies can be slow, expensive or impractical when content spreads rapidly online.
According to the government’s consultation report, this legal uncertainty has caused particular problems where:
- Intimate images are shared without consent.
- Embarrassing or vulnerable moments are posted publicly.
- AI-generated images or deepfakes depict real people.
In those cases, islanders are often left negotiating directly with global tech companies, each with their own rules, timescales and complaint systems – if any exist at all.
What is the government proposing to change?
The draft proposals aim to replace this uncertainty with clear, enforceable rights.
Rather than focusing on punishing offenders, the new law would focus on removal and harm reduction, giving individuals a formal right to ask for content about them to be taken down.
The legislation has two main goals: to improve the complaints policies for internet services and their obligations to remove content, and to create a clearly defined policy on the rights islanders have over images of themselves which are shared online.
It promises to “strike an appropriate balance between allowing freedom of expression and safeguarding the privacy of individuals in supporting needed cultural change”.
The proposal comes on the heels of Jersey’s Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce Report, which recommended that the government “should ensure that similar protections to those afforded by the UK Online Safety Bill, in relation to the regulation of online platforms to ensure they are protecting their users, are brought in through other means”.
What kinds of images would fall within the new rules?
The consultation is trying to gauge opinion on what sort of images would fall within the new rules.
It asks: “Would you agree with a proposal to establish new rules to further enhance online privacy for individuals, allowing them to request, subject to specific exceptions, the more general removal of photos or videos of that person if they were taken without their consent and their publication causes the depicted person harm, distress, or damage to their reputation?”
The proposal suggests that this would primarily apply to sensitive images published online. Examples of the content which islanders could be able to have removed are:
- Intimate or sexually explicit images shared without consent.
- Photos taken during vulnerable moments (e.g. injury, trauma, intoxication).
- Images used to bully or harass (e.g. mocking a child’s appearance).
Images can also only be removed if they were taken without your consent (subject to specific exemptions), and if posting them has caused harm or distress to you, or damaged your reputation.
This will also apply to images generated by AI or photo-editing software.
The types of images which are expected to be exempt are:
- Photos taken in public places (sports events, street scenes).
- Images taken with your agreement (the photographer owns them).
- Photos published for public interest (search warrants, news about crimes).
- Certain images, including satirical images of public figures, who generally have fewer privacy rights.
How will the legislation affect internet services?
Internet services (social media, websites and search engines) operating in the island will be compelled to have a “simple and accessible complaint procedures for users” to remove illegal content or content which breaches the provider’s rules.
Islanders will be entitled to receive a response from internet services within 48 hours of a complaint about illegal content in which the service will either remove the content or inform the complainant that the content was legal and will remain online.
The examples of illegal content given are:
- Child sexual abuse material.
- Photos or videos that violate copyright rules.
- Selling banned items (such as drugs, exotic animals, or counterfeit goods).
- Posts that threaten public safety (for example, terrorist propaganda).
The consultation acknowledges a risk that some internet services could view compliance as overly burdensome and choose to withdraw.
However, the government argues this is unlikely, noting that similar rules are being adopted across multiple jurisdictions – reducing the incentive for companies to exit individual markets.
How does Jersey compare internationally?
Jersey’s move reflects a wider international shift, with comparable online safety and digital services laws having been introduced in the UK, the European Union, and Australia.
A recent review by the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel found that children in Jersey “may face fewer barriers” in accessing harmful or adult content online compared with their UK peers.
The panel highlighted the fact that Jersey’s laws do not require internet services to verify the ages of their users when accessing specific content and that there are no clear rules compelling companies to remove illegal or harmful material.
The panel also questioned why Jersey did not seek the option to opt into the UK’s Online Safety Act, which is currently being implemented by regulator Ofcom.
The UK
The Online Safety Act in the UK aims to protect children from viewing harmful content by requiring services to enforce age restrictions and remove content deemed illegal, as well as giving adults more control over the targeted advertising and content they receive.
It also introduces a number of new online offences:
- encouraging or assisting serious self-harm
- cyberflashing
- sending false information intended to cause non-trivial harm
- threatening communications
- intimate image abuse
- epilepsy trolling
Australia
In Australia, The Online Safety Act primarily expands the powers of eSafety, a government body which oversees online safety in the country. Following the law, eSafety can:
- Respond to complaints from citizens about intimate images of themselves or content used for online abuse and remove these.
- Remove harmful or illegal content from services flagged by users.
- Investigate claims of cyberbullying and remove content used for this.
- Block Australians from viewing what is deemed to be extremely harmful content, such as the live streaming of a terrorist attack.
The act also introduced a minimum age for social media users of 16, making Australia the only country to have an outright ban for under 18s which cannot be overridden by parents.
The EU
The Digital Services Act in the EU
- Makes it easier to flag illegal content online.
- Ensures any non-consensual private images and other abusive, illegal content that are shared can be quickly flagged by users.
- Creates transparency requirements for advertising, compelling advertisers to explain why you are receiving that ad.
- Creates a simpler complaint system surrounding online content.
- Forces large internet services to create a concise terms and conditions in the local language for users to consult before accepting.
What happens next?
The ongoing consultation gives islanders the opportunity to shape how this legal “grey area” is resolved – including how far removal rights should extend and how platforms should be held accountable.
You can access the consultation online here, email economy@gov.je, or write to the Digital Economy Team, Department for the Economy, Government of Jersey, Union Street, St Helier, JE2 3DN to give your feedback.