As a nation, the UK’s approach to online safety is cohesive – one that draws on the collective efforts of government bodies, law enforcement, regulators, charities, and safety tech companies. As a result, the UK has made significant strides in terms of online safety. In October 2023, the Online Safety Act passed into law, further cementing the UK’s progress. The Act imposes a requirement for online service providers to protect all users from illegal harm, with further safeguards for children.
While legislation could have a great positive impact, it can struggle to keep up with the fast-evolving nature of technology. Despite the progress made, it’s vital to recognise the scope and scale of digital threats. These threats can shatter financial markets, cause political instability, and devastate lives. The rise of AI is a key example: while the technology has huge potential to unlock opportunity, it can also be exploited by criminals to cause harm.
To remain at the forefront of online safety, the UK needs to stay vigilant and highly proactive when it comes to emerging threats. From evidence-based approaches in Ireland to public awareness campaigns in New Zealand, there’s a lot to be learnt from other regions.
Take an evidence-led approach
Grey areas are rife in the digital space. How do we balance privacy and safety? What constitutes a duty of care? How do we apply the same restrictions that are in place in a physical environment to a digital one? Regulators play a vital role in clarifying the most complex questions. To do their job, they need to have robust statutory frameworks to follow backed by evidence. As the regulatory landscape becomes more complex, regulators need to ensure a firm legal footing for requirements placed on providers in their jurisdiction.
We’ve seen this approach succeed with the Irish Media Commission, which is responsible for media regulation and development. The research commissioned by the regulator was foundational to the development of the Online Safety Code, setting out binding rules for video-sharing platforms that have EU headquarters in Ireland.
The research reviewed the full range of harms and analysed their prevalence and impact, looking at the features of online platforms that enable and exacerbate them. Algorithms, for example, can cause significant harm by serving users with similar content, where the harm happens through accumulative exposure. With strong evidence to underpin these decisions, the Commissioner successfully defended the decisions to determine that Reddit and Tumblr are in regulatory scope, a decision that the platforms had challenged in court.
Better balance the regulatory burden
Fostering growth is high on the agenda for the new UK government, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, which make up the majority of private sector businesses in the UK. When it comes to online safety, these businesses can be at a disadvantage: their limited resources for content moderation, risk assessments, and user reporting features can complicate compliance.
The UK is a world leader in safety legislation – regulators know that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. Regulators can work with businesses to lessen the burden, share the overheads associated with deploying specialist technologies, and drive efficiencies in the compliance process.
One approach is fostering collaboration among businesses to exploit economies of scale, and the private sector offers valuable lessons in this area. The Transaction Monitoring Netherlands (TMNL) collaboration between five banks helps to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing by utilising advanced technologies and combining customer data. Because of this joined-up approach, the five banks have uncovered money laundering activity more precisely than if they had worked alone.
Tackle threats on a global scale
As more and more countries start to prioritise legislation, a more uniform approach will be fundamental to shared success. Not only will this ensure that harm isn’t displaced to other nations – it will benefit industry, too. Organisations often struggle to navigate the jurisdictional differences in legislation, and some use them to avoid tougher compliance altogether. Global coordination requires a practical approach.
WeProtect Global Alliance embodies practicality in its globally aligned approach to tackling threats to children’s online safety. For the past decade, the Alliance – comprising governments, the private sector, civil society, and law enforcement – has been at the leading edge of collaborative, international policy development to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. Working across national borders, the Alliance has developed various tools, frameworks, and research (such as its Global Threat Assessment, produced in partnership with PA) to help organisations to embed practical, aligned mitigation measures.
The UK could apply a similar approach to the full spectrum of online harms. The Global Online Safety Regulators Network is a step in the right direction. Launched in 2022 by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, the network enables regulators to share expertise and evidence, supporting an aligned international approach to online safety regulation. The UK is one of eight network members working in collaboration to protect citizens against online harms. The focus now is on expanding the network and bringing more countries into the fold. The result will be greater alignment and faster solutions based on shared learnings – though as the network grows, the complexity will increase.
Drive awareness for those in harm's way
The shift from responding to preventing threats requires a two-pronged approach: regulation and public awareness. When delivered in this way, government-led campaigns have been incredibly effective. Take smoking as an example. Public awareness posters in medical centres and adverts in popular media have hammered home the risks of smoking and encouraged people to see the benefits of quitting – namely, a healthier, longer life. To make a sustained change, people need to see the benefits. If the dangers of online harms were communicated in a similar, sensitive way, parents and guardians would take a more active role in children’s online habits. Removing the social taboo would also enable young people to be more likely to speak out.
Public awareness must be maintained alongside regulation, as regulation isn’t going to take effect overnight. Regulation is also never a one-stop solution. Restrictions of any kind must be married with education and awareness. For example, in 2020, the New Zealand government launched Keep It Real Online, a campaign to raise awareness around children’s online safety. The campaign appeared in newspapers and on the radio, TV, billboards, posters, and social media.
By continuing to work with and learn from the approaches taken by other countries, the UK can galvanise its leading role in making the internet safer. Through joined-up working and alignment, the UK government can continue to play a leading role in online safety by advocating for greater global alignment, stimulating public debate and awareness of online harms, and promoting evidence-based approaches.
About the authors
Left to right: PA Consulting’s online safety and regulation expert Natalia Greene, and online safety expert Patrick Cronin