Governments have long relied on online platforms to do most of the work necessary to maintain a safe online environment, trusting that industry guidelines and other voluntary measures would suffice. However, the persistence and severity of online safety problems such as child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), and terrorist and violent extremist content, have demonstrated the limitations of this approach. The growth of online CSEA, for instance, is accelerating, posing a grave danger to children. With the wide availability of low- or no-cost, AI-driven ‘nudifying’ apps, the non-consensual generation and sharing of intimate images has become a pervasive problem, threatening the safety and well-being of girls and women in particular. The cumulative impact of online safety problems necessitated a re-evaluation of the hands-off approach that had endured since the commercial Internet’s early days. As a result, an increasing number of jurisdictions are establishing regulations to safeguard users.
Online safety and well-being
The Internet has connected people like no other technology before it, but bad actors are just as skilled at using it as legitimate ones. That puts users’ safety and well-being, and therefore their trust, at risk. In response, more jurisdictions are turning to regulation. However, sound policies require a solid base of evidence, and we cannot lose sight of the benefits of being online while trying to ensure users’ safety.
Key messages
Without adequate information about the nature and extent of safety challenges that users face online and how online service providers are responding to them, policymakers are groping in the dark when they try to find solutions. A solid evidence base makes it possible to discern trends, identify vulnerable user groups, target problem areas, determine which measures work well and which do not, and anticipate emerging threats. Furthermore, by enabling policymakers to gauge the impact of policies over time, a robust base of evidence allows them to refine interventions regulatory measures and ensure that they remain responsive to ever-evolving safety challenges.
As more jurisdictions introduce online safety regulations, the compliance burden grows for service providers operating internationally. That is especially the case when regulations are uncoordinated across jurisdictions, so that each has a different set of requirements. Emerging transparency reporting regulations, for example, vary from country to country. That means the affected companies will have to produce multiple versions of their reports in every period. Meanwhile, policymakers will look at the same issues through different lenses, potentially complicating discussions on how to tackle online safety problems that are common to all jurisdictions. A more efficient solution is to develop international reporting standards. The OECD has taken a major step in that direction with the Voluntary Transparency Reporting Framework.
Context
Rise of online safety regulators in OECD countries
A growing number of jurisdictions are establishing dedicated online safety regulatory bodies. Those bodies are overseeing the development, implementation and enforcement of regulations designed to improve online safety and well-being. Without adequate international coordination, as the number of such agencies grows, so does the risk of fragmentation and its associated costs. Those costs can affect both the public and private sectors, and they may be monetary as well as informational.
Only one-third of leading content sharing services issue transparency reports on terrorist and violent extremist content (TVEC)
Among the global top 50 most popular online content-sharing services, only 17 issued transparency reports with information on TVEC in 2024. Although this number has increased over the last years (5 in 2020, 11 in 2021 and 15 in 2022), transparency reporting on TVEC remains a minority practice, with heterogenous end results.
Transparency reporting is even more uncommon among the top 50 services that are most used to disseminate TVEC online. In 2024, only six of them issued transparency reports on TVEC.
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The digital environment is fundamental in the lives of children, providing greater access to education and social connections. However, it can also expose them to a range of harms. Recognising that policy makers need to balance opportunities and risks, the OECD focuses on fostering a digital environment that safeguards children while allowing them to harness its benefits.Learn more
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Child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) online is a major global threat. It is complex, constantly evolving, and growing in scale. CSEA can take the form of images, videos or livestreams, it can involve a child being contacted by offenders who want to solicit or groom them – or it can be a combination of these. No matter what form CSEA takes, it brings about untold harm to the victims and survivors as well as to society.Learn more
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Terrorists and violent extremists continue to abuse online platforms to radicalize and recruit, and to fund and co-ordinate attacks. Despite improvements in detection methods and efforts from governments and platforms alike to curb the dissemination of TVEC online, malicious actors are developing creative ways to achieve their ends. Multistakeholder co-operation and a better evidence base are necessary to improve policy responses and save lives.Learn more