Finding Common Ground: social media bans focus minds on cooperation to deliver safety by design.
International regulators are increasingly focused on finding common ground to ensure the success of new European digital safety rules. Meeting at the FOSI 2026 European Forum in Brussels, representatives of the French and Belgian Digital Services Coordinators, the UK communications regulator, the Dutch government agency responsible for combating illegal digital content and the OECD, discussed a shared mission to build inherently safer digital environments.
Cross-border collaboration is essential for effective implementation of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), the UK Online Safety Act (OSA), and similar regulations across the world. Despite important differences, these regulations share a focus on “systemic risk”, as well as "safety by design”, concepts that result from many years of serious policy research and deliberation, and that depend upon the cooperation and expertise of digital service providers.
A recent swathe of crowd-pleasing government announcements that social media will be banned for children, has created some urgency among digital regulators. In Paris, G7 leaders welcomed a Common Set of Principles defining a safer and more secure digital space for minors: a framework that can only help regulators to accelerate their proclaimed "no egos" approach to protecting users through harmonised enforcement.
Jonny Shipp moderated the panel, “Regulation in Motion: Navigating Online Safety Policy Across Europe” at the FOSI 2026 European Forum. Since 2017 he has collaborated with an international network of associates to facilitate engagement between digital services stakeholders. By taking an outcome-based, cooperative approach, regulators and civil society organisations can anticipate, navigate and deliver positive outcomes from digital regulation.
Article 21 of the EU Digital Services Act requires online platforms to engage with certified Out-of-court Dispute Settlement (ODS) bodies.
Online platforms are required to engage in good faith with certified Out-of-court Dispute Settlement (ODS) bodies. The European Commission provides details and lists the certified bodies. The mechanism allows users to contest moderation decisions by online platforms restricting their accounts or sanctioning their content. It seeks to build trust in online environments and provide insight into systemic issues.
A Working Group of the Digital Trust and Safety Partnership recently published its updated position paper, including case studies. It highlights a need for consistency of expertise and competence, effective eligibility reviews, the use of internal complaints processes, and reasonable, proportionate cost and fee structures. Industry best practices are identified to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the ODS ecosystem.
The UK Safer Internet Centre advocates for an equivalent mechanism in the UK, to resolve individual disputes and uphold people’s rights to safety and freedom online. The Online Safety Act includes a requirement for Ofcom to report on user redress by March 2027, and to advise whether an out-of-court dispute resolution system should be introduced.
When new technologies and big ideas emerge, we enjoy creating and delivering strategy, innovation and public policy initiatives. Since 2017 Jonny Shipp has collaborated with an international network of associates to help companies, government, and think-tanks drive prosperity and progress.