The Australian eSafety Commissioner has released a new investment checklist for the purchasers of IT platforms and services to ensure the products they buy are safe for users.
eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant said the checklist was part of eSafety’s Safety by Design initiative, aimed at embedding safety principles at the initial stages of development of an online platform, service or product — and not as a bolt-on afterward.
“As eSafety Commissioner, I have been told on many occasions by tech companies that they have learned safety lessons the hard way — by damage done to their reputation, revenue and customer trust,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“The 12-point checklist sets out some simple questions to ask start-up tech companies around safety before an investment is made.”
She said she wanted to make it as easy as possible for companies to adopt and implement Safety by Design.
“Investors and venture capitalists are shaping the business model at the start and can play a big part in helping start-ups achieve this,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“Investors and the venture capital community can be the stewards who ensure that safety considerations are embedded into the culture, values, and strategies of those companies with inspired ideas and promising technology.”
She said eSafety had developed this checklist for investors to use when considering whether to invest in tech companies, thereby potentially avoiding a ‘tech wreck’ down the line.
The 12-point checklist can be accessed on the eSafety website at this PS News link.
