Children in the 21st century are growing up in the digital world, spending more and more of their time online. However, the internet was not designed with children’s safety in mind. Safe Online exists to make sure that the internet is safe for children, so that every child can take advantage of all the opportunities the internet has to offer.
Our investments result in strong systems, data, and research on online trends and threats, and the technology tools needed to tackle digital harms at scale. We ensure that the opportunities created by digital technology are open to everyone.
The threats and dangers children experience online can include harassment and violence, exposure to harmful content, and concerns around unethical use of digital data.
The most critical threat to children, however, is the alarming growth in online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), and creation and sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including images and videos. This threat has only been exacerbated with the rise of new technologies such as generative AI, which have the potential to create new avenues of exploitation.
Strengthening systems, creating incentives for action though norms change, policies and advanced regulation.
Generating large-scale and actionable research to inform the design of digital platforms and government services.
Designing technology tools that protect children and disrupt harmful behaviours and offending.
Along with our wider work as convenors and partners, our investments help to generate new knowledge and evidence, supporting organisations across sectors to strengthen collaboration and cooperation with governments, the public, civil society, tech companies and key decision makers.
The evidence generated from our investments informs and strengthens advocacy to governments, industry and other key stakeholders to prioritise online child safety in their policies, budgets and business practices.
We have much more to do, and we look forward to collaborating with an ever wider set of partners, donors and grantees to make the internet safe for children everywhere.
We are currently running an open funding call. Click here for more information and to apply.
Click here for more on the work and impact of Safe Online.
Please note this is a temporary site produced for the ease of access to our 2023 funding round for grantees and donors.
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