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Written by
UK Team
20th November, 2024

Win for children: UK Government makes safety by design a strategic priority

Following a campaign by 5Rights and members of the Children’s Coalition for Online Safety, the UK Government has taken a decisive step forward on online safety by publishing draft proposals which will instruct the UK’s digital regulator, Ofcom to make safety-by-design a cornerstone of its enforcement of the Online Safety Act.

A close-up of a little boy in a teal hoodie on a laptop. He is lent over a yellow desk and has his left thumb resting on the trackpad, seemingly navigating the laptop. He is wide-eyed and very engaged.

Peter Kyle MP, the UK’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, announced today that safety by design is the first of the draft statement of strategic priorities for the enforcement of the Online Safety Act. As part of the proposed priorities, the Secretary of State instructs Ofcom to ensure that platforms are making their services safe by design for children. The regulatory process of the priorities means that Ofcom must now report to the Government outlining how its activity is meeting this aim, which will determine the next steps by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology before the final statement of strategic priorities is finalised in early 2025.

This marks a win for 5Rights and our partners – the NSPCC, Internet Watch Foundation, Barnardo’s and the Molly Rose Foundation, who came together to advocate for this intervention from the government. Earlier this month,  we joined parliamentarians at an event at the Houses of Parliament to make the case for further Government action to make sure Ofcom was delivering on the intentions of the Online Safety Act, which passed into law in October 2023.

The statement underscores that platforms “should look at all areas of their services and business models, including algorithms and functionalities, when considering how to protect all users online” and “embed safety outcomes throughout the design and development of new features and functionalities, and consider how to make existing features safer”.

In addition, the Government has announced new research into online harms: the first project regarding the impact of smartphones and social media use on children.

The Government’s renewed commitment to safety by design is both timely and necessary. Since the Act’s passage, Ofcom has been tasked with setting out the “rules” for tech companies to comply with the Act. Alongside members of the 5Rights-led Children’s Coalition for Online Safety, we have consistently called on Ofcom to adopt a more ambitious approach and deliver real change for children.

We look forward to engaging with the Government’s consultation on the draft statement and with the regulator, Ofcom, to ensure these priorities deliver a culture shift within the tech sector that prioritises children’s safety.