eSafety has gone international joining forces with regulators from Fiji, Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK) to encourage and coordinate global efforts to make the world of online a safer place.
Commissioner of eSafety, Julie Inman Grant said the new Global Online Safety Regulators Network was a collaboration between the first movers in online safety regulation – Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Fiji’s Online Safety Commission and Ofcom in the UK – with support from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
“The Network is intended to pave the way for a coherent international approach to online safety regulation, by enabling new online safety regulators to share information, experience and best practices,” Ms Inman Grant (pictured) said.
“Members will share a commitment to act independently of commercial and political influence, as well as to human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” she said.
“The Network is being set up at a time of rapid evolution in the global digital landscape and a greater focus on online safety issues from governments, industry and citizens alike.”
Ms Inman Grant said the new Network would help to avoid the risk of a “global splinternet” of inconsistent regulation by setting out a clearer and more consistent international framework for industry to follow.
“I’ve always believed the future of effective online safety regulation would involve a network of global regulators working together to make the online world a safer place for everyone,” the Commissioner said.
“In 2015, we were the world’s only online safety regulator,” she said.
“Today, I’m happy to report that this is no longer the case and online safety regulators are starting to pop up all over the globe, backed by new laws ensuring providers of digital services are held to account.”
