The Online Harms White Paper set out the UK government’s ambition to make the UK the safest place in the world to go online, and the best place to grow and start a digital business. DCMS Safety Tech Sectoral Analysis has further identified that there are at least 70 dedicated Safety Tech providers, working to tackle online harms, in a rapidly-growing UK marketplace.
In support of these policy priorities, DCMS launched the Online Safety Data Initiative (OSDI) to test methodologies to facilitate better access to higher quality data to support the development of technology to identify and remove harmful and illegal content from the internet. The initiative aims to design and prototype new approaches which ensure trusted parties can securely and ethically access the online harms data they need to develop new safety tech solutions.
Leading the Discovery Phase, we conducted mixed-methods user research to identify and segment barriers to data sharing among Safety Tech companies. Based on over 80+ interviews with innovators, policymakers, social media platforms, and academic experts, we co-developed a series of technical interventions to improve access to data.
Our work, at the time of writing currently being delivered at Alpha Phase, is already helping to tackle barriers to sharing sensitive online harms data for the purpose of developing cutting-edge solutions.
To drive a standardised approach to describing and labelling online harms for safety tech firms, clients, and the future regulator, we are building and testing a taxonomy of online harms. This is a natural initial step in developing a Safety Tech regulatory and standards ecosystem. Working closely with Safety Tech firms, the high-level Online Harms Taxonomy and a proof of concept Suicide and Self-Harm Taxonomy are expected to improve adoption of common data labelling and harm type definitions across the sector.
We have developed a product evaluation standards framework based on extensive user research with the Safety Tech community. As a proof of concept, PUBLIC and Faculty are implementing a technical test suite for Safety Tech firms to put their AI models through their paces against a test dataset, labelled against the team’s Online Harms Taxonomy. Initially, the test suite will evaluate Safety Tech products that monitor unsafe suicide and self-harm content, with significant scope to expand to other harm types and products.
Authors
Partnering with DCMS to operate the UK’s first Safety Tech Challenge Fund - a groundbreaking grant programme aimed at empowering safety tech innovation to enhance child online safety
Through extensive desk research, use case development and stakeholder engagement, we recommended four areas of focus for the EHRC’s Strategic Plan relating to AI and equality and human rights.
Developing recommendations grounded in leading industry insights to empower DSIT to support the SafetyTech sector’s growth effectively and navigate potential challenges
Empowering DSIT to assess the Online Safety Bill’s effectiveness with a flexible M&E framework informed by robust research
Researching accreditation approaches across the technology sector to develop recommendations for a tailored accreditation process for the online safety tech industry
Comprehensive research to equip Ofcom with a deep understanding of online content accessibility via search services, informing online safety guidance
Crafting a comprehensive Interactive Services (IS) Model to provide Ofcom with a common framework for understanding user journeys and platform workflows
Conducting a detailed analysis of the emerging SafetyTech sector to enable DCMS to make informed decisions and continue supporting the sector’s expansion
Mapping the current state of the Age Assurance market, identifying representative use cases, and key challenges to help DCMS gain a more in-depth understanding of a rapidly evolving technology sector
Researching the existing taxonomy, prevalence, legislative and regulatory landscape, and emerging trends related to Child Financial Harms
Developing a ‘minimum-viable product’ for a standards framework to assess online safety compliance solutions
Through mixed methods user research we mapped the prevalence and impact of OVAWG, identified key dynamics characterising how these harms occur, and categorised 18 harm types.
Researched innovative design approaches that can support the safety of women and girls on online platforms and services.
Research, system-mapping and recommendations for Nominet's fund combatting illegal online harm.
