Global and domestic support for safety by design grows

We round up below some of the recent statements calling for a stronger focus on safety by design as a means to ensure greater online safety for children, and all online users, as well as stronger accountability from tech platforms and AI developers for the products that they put onto the market. These include international bodies, Parliamentary Committees, the Police, three of the UK children's commissioners and leading civil society organisations.

As we have set out previously, this approach is the bare minimum expected in most other industrial sectors and, as polling confirms, it has huge levels of public backing. The chorus of voices - both from the UK and internationally - calling for such action is now deafening. Protestations by both the Government and the regulator that they are doing this already fundamentally miss the point. Narrow, piecemeal measures addressing individual features or harms, or the creation of more and more criminal offences, are not the same as a mandating a holistic, bottom-up approach to safety: designing products that are safe from the start, not reacting once they have already caused harm.

We call on the UK Government to listen, adopt our code of practice on safety by design, - endorsed by many of the organisations below - instruct Ofcom to embed this approach in its implementation of the Online Safety Act, and strengthen the legislation to ensure it is delivered.

Common Set of Principles defining a safer and more secure digital space for minors

Principle 2: Protect minors from harms online through safety by design approaches such as protective and by default settings, including parental control tools, which prevent minors from being exposed to content, interactions and features that are not age appropriate, safe and secure. Minors’ accounts privacy and safety should be ensured through default settings, as well as by providing parents tools to manage their children’s default privacy and safety settings, helping minors and parents to limit their screen time and to prevent minors from specific risks such as being geolocated or contacted without consent, and from functionalities leading to compulsive or habit-forming use. Furthermore, governments should collaborate with the private sector, civil society and researchers to informing discussions on these parameters.

Getting Children’s Safety Online Right

FOCUS ON PLATFORM DESIGN TO CREATE A SAFER ONLINE ENVIRONMENT Require platforms to make digital environments safer by design – rather than placing the burden on children and parents. Regulations should require rights-respecting business practices, including by addressing addictive design (such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and persistent notifications) and tightly regulating online marketing targeting children.

Accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls: new Council of Europe recommendation

Safety By Design: The Recommendation also calls for a safety-by-design approach to make sure that products and services of technology companies do not facilitate violence.

Towards digital safety by design for children

Safety By Design:

This report underscores the multifaceted nature of incorporating digital safety for children into design, highlighting the interplay of technical, societal, and corporate initiatives. Whilst the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders, from tech companies to policymakers, educators to parents, and children themselves, are crucial in shaping a digital environment that is both enriching and safe, policy makers are clearly signposting the responsibility of digital service providers to embed safety for children in their products and services by design. The key components of digital safety for children, whilst diverse in nature, are intricately interlinked, forming a cohesive framework that prioritises children's safety and well-being. These components span a spectrum, from those embedded at the design stage to broader framing elements that support digital safety by design on a global scale, such as promoting a culture of safety and well-being for children.

Safety by Design puts user safety and rights at the centre of the design and development of online products and services

Safety by Design puts user safety and rights at the centre of the design and development of online products and services. Rather than retrofitting safeguards after an issue has occurred, Safety by Design focuses on the ways technology companies can minimise online threats by anticipating, detecting and eliminating online harms before they occur. It encourages technology companies to alter their design ethos from ‘moving fast and breaking things’ or ‘profit at all costs’ to ‘moving thoughtfully’, investing in risk mitigation at the front end and embedding user protections from the get-go. This proactive and preventative approach focuses on embedding safety into the culture and leadership of an organisation. It emphasises accountability and aims to foster more positive, civil and rewarding online experiences for everyone.

Response to Government consultation: Letter from Chair of SIT Committee to DSIT Ministers

The onus must be on anyone marketing an information society service (such as a social media platform) to demonstrate that they meet strong consumer safety standards set by government in the same way they would have to for a toy or domestic appliance. We have heard that enough severe harm has been demonstrated from social media services that would, in other products, lead to a recall or change of that product. As with any physical product, such as a children’s toy, any new feature or service should demonstrate that it meets safety standards before going to market.
Services should be safe by design for all users. Features that can cause behavioural addiction, such as infinite scrolling, should be designed out in social media and AI online services.

Growing up in the online world: the Education Committee's response to the Government consultation

We recommend that the Government uses the powers available to it to impose clear, enforceable duties on platforms to prioritise child safety by design, backed by meaningful sanctions for non-compliance.

Response to consultation

To make the online world safer for children, action is needed across the system. This includes:
Design platforms to be safe from the start: Require companies to build safety into their services by design, rather than responding after harm occurs.

Consultation response

Safety By Design: The report calls for a fundamental shift towards a product safety model for children’s digital experiences, including mandatory pre-launch child safety testing and stronger regulation of AI chatbots.

Safety By Design Code of Practice: This code of practice aims to provide an overview of safety by design set within the framework of the UK Online Safety Act (2023) and Ofcom’s existing codes and guidance. Safety by design has become a core tenet in digital regulation. While there is agreement on what it means in broad terms, there is less certainty about what is specifically required and how that might work in practice. The code provides detailed guidance for all tech companies to help them understand safety by design and how safety by design principles might be applied in the context of digital services. It also serves as a template for adoption by the UK Government and Ofcom as a model for delivering on the UK Online Safety Act (2023) requirement that regulated services are “safe by design”.

A Healthy Influence? report

The Government must amend the Online Safety Act to:

Insert a definition for safety by design: this will require Ofcom to produce a “safety by design” code of practice that will underpin all codes of practice in the regulatory regime. The code should address harms to children caused by addictive or compulsive design, including the advertisement-based business models which require addictive or compulsive design choices in order to retain user attention on advertisements.

Growing up in the online world: a national consultation

Safety-by-design and platform accountability: the most consistent recommendation is to shift focus from 'who can access services' to 'how those services are designed.' This includes restricting high-risk features such as algorithmic recommendation feeds, infinite scroll, autoplay, public metrics (likes/followers), and unrestricted contact with unknown adults. Safety should be built in by default, with responsibility placed on platforms rather than parents or children.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council

In every other walk of everyday life there are laws and safeguards in place to protect children, and yet the online space remains something of a wild west where legislation and regulation has failed to keep up with the pace of technology. The risk to children and the harms caused are severe and wide-ranging. The online space has made it too easy for criminals, abusers, fraudsters and extremists to target the most vulnerable in our society and destroy lives. There is no doubt in my mind that technology companies are failing in their duty of care to those using their platforms and services, and are knowingly using designs and features which are easily exploited by criminals. This refusal to prioritise safety by design is boosting criminals’ speed and reach. This must stop and I know there is more than can be done.

Consultation response

Mandating safety-by-design, by inserting a clear definition in the Act and requiring the introduction of a safety-by-design code of practice. MRF supports the model code which has been prepared by the Online Safety Act Network alongside MRF and other leading organisations. This would ensure that platforms have to address the harmful design choices, features and functionalities that drive harm, and introduce provisions for regulated firms to rigorously test their products and to ensure they are demonstrably safe for use before being released to the public. (p49)

Consultation response

This is all part of a Safety by Design approach2 which we believe must be at the forefront of any new regulatory regime. To this end, we also support the Safety by Design Code of Practice coordinated by the Online Safety Network.3 As part of this work, the Online Safety Act network also commissioned a representative poll of UK adults.4 This was conducted by YouGov and its findings will be cited in our responses to the questions in this consultation.

This Safety By Design code of practice would do the following:
• Social media platforms safety tested before launch, not after harm — with the people most affected by harm involved in the testing.
• Children’s accounts are private by default — with strangers unable to find or message them.
• Addictive features turned off by default — autoplay, infinite scroll, streaks, lootboxes, push alerts. They can be opted into where safe; they should not be the starting point.
• A ban on ‘dark patterns’ — the manipulative design tricks that push users into choices they would not otherwise make.
• Real accountability — a named board-level person responsible for safety, with public reporting on what’s working and what isn’t.
• Redress - routes for people harmed by services, or activity on them, to seek action from companies. We are advocating for Ofcom to include this alongside other codes covering illegal harms and the protection of children. (p2)

Joint statement

"Tech companies must be held accountable for unsafe designs, harmful features and weak safeguards. Just as we would expect from any business offering products and services offline, they must prove their services are safe and appropriate for children ... The Government should also amend the Online Safety Act to include a definition of safety by design and instruct Ofcom to bring in a code of practice to bring this into effect."

Consultation response and CSEA sector recommendations

Ofcom’s approach to implementation has focused primarily on downstream measures, which deal with the harm after it has happened, rather than on the upstream requirement – as set out in the first section of the OSA - that services need to be “safe by design.” This is discussed further in the OSA Network’s 10-point action plan. A statutory definition of safety by design must be inserted into the Act to make clear to Ofcom and regulated services what Parliament intended. The current lack of definition, alongside codes that rely largely on evidence-based and prescriptive measures, has led to a series of codes of practice that are narrow and limited to ex-post actions. Secondary legislation should be laid to require Ofcom to produce a crosscutting safety by design code of practice which would sit beneath the existing content-based codes and operationalise the intention of the Act. The Online Safety Act Network has worked with key partners, including signatories of this document, to produce a draft Code of Practice to demonstrate what good "safety by design" looks like.

Summary response to consultation

A survey of 803 professionals working closely with children and young people across education, safeguarding, and youth services found:

Strong Support for Safety-by-Design The strongest consensus among professionals is the need to focus on systemic, design-led solutions. There is clear support for stronger regulation of platforms, alongside requirements for age-appropriate design and safer default settings. Rather than broad bans, respondents favour targeted measures that limit exposure to risk. This includes addressing high-risk features and reducing the influence of persuasive design techniques that keep young people engaged for extended periods. These approaches are widely seen as more effective, proportionate, and aligned with the sources of harm.

Approaches focused solely on restricting access risk being ineffective or even counterproductive. Instead, there is strong support for systemic, safety-by-design interventions that make online environments safer by default, alongside strengthened support for families, schools, and safeguarding professionals.

Response to consultation

The only long-term, rights-respecting solution to ensuring children’s rights and safety online is to tackle the harmful design of current Big Tech platforms, enforcing safety-by-design and user privacy through effective and properly enforced regulations. Robust safeguards are necessary to ensure social media platforms stop exposing users to harms through their relentless pursuit of user engagement and the exploitation of people’s personal data. While banning teenagers from social media may appear to offer a simple fix, it does not alter the platform design features that expose users of all ages to risk, nor does it resolve broader societal harms such as the spread of disinformation, polarization, or the role of social media in fueling human rights abuses.

We recommend that greater emphasis be put on design choices that platform providers can make to increase safety-by-design as opposed to implementing age assurance/verification and increasing data collection.

Consultation response

The Centre’s recommendations call for stronger implementation and enforcement of existing online safety laws, greater transparency from technology companies, regulation that keeps pace with emerging technologies, and a clear commitment to safety by design as the foundation of future policy. Most importantly, we urge policymakers to ensure that the experiences of girls and young women are fully reflected in efforts to create a safer online world for all children.

Consultation response

Positive online spaces do not just emerge. They must be actively built, and maintained, with and for the communities that use them. This is where a safety-bydesign approach is imperative. There is so much at stake for our young people. They are acutely aware of the role that technologies play in their lives now and in the future. These young people will also be the designers of the next generation of technology advances. We should be instilling in them a sense of agency over their digital worlds so that they can continue to make these spaces better for those that come after them.

"I love it, but I hate it" report

Insert a definition for safety by design: this will require Ofcom to produce a “safety by design” code of practice that will underpin all codes of practice in the regulatory regime. The code should address harms to children caused by addictive or compulsive design, including the advertisement-based business models which require addictive or compulsive design choices in order to retain user attention on advertisements.

Digital Trapdoors report

The evidence we have assembled strengthens the case for algorithmic transparency and a “safety by design” approach to tech regulation. The Government must now act to insert a clear definition of “safety by design” into the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom must adopt and enforce a code of practice which requires that any company designing and profiting from a technological product ensures user safety from the earliest stages of development and throughout the entire product lifestyle. These changes would benefit us all.

Every child safe online: supporting children with additional needs

Take a safety-by-design approach to the development of products and services, including by providing children with developmentally appropriate experiences. Platforms should design features and functionalities from the outset with the safety of children in mind, ensuring that they are safe for use before being made accessible to users. Platforms should offer experiences that can be tailored to children’s ages and their stages of development, so that children with different needs can have appropriate online experiences and these can be easily set up and supported by their parents, where needed. High risk features and functionalities, such as those that keep children engaged for longer or increase the risk of harm, should be restricted from child users.