‘Historic’ US-UK partnership to boost global online safety

The first ever UK-US online safety agreement has been signed in a bid to get platforms to go “further and faster” to protect children.

In a new statement agreed by UK tech secretary Peter Kyle and US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, both governments have committed to closer collaboration to ensure online safety is not an “afterthought”.

As part of the “historic” move, both countries will work to ensure the benefits of technology can be maximised for society and social media firms protect human rights and promote safe content, the UK Government said.

They have also committed to working with international partners on the joint priority.

Kyle said: “The online world brings incredible benefits for young people, enriching their education and social lives. But these experiences must take place in an environment which has safety baked in from the outset, not as an afterthought. Delivering this goal is my priority.

“The digital world has no borders and working with our international partners like the US - one of our closest allies and home to the biggest tech firms - is essential. This joint statement will turn our historic partnership towards delivering a safer online world for the next generation.”

The partnership will see the launch of a new joint children’s online safety working group, which will strive to boost research on the causal impact that social media has on young people.

The cohort will focus on areas including promoting better transparency from platforms and helping to understand the impact of new technologies such as generative AI on kids as well as consider researcher’s access to privacy-preserving data on social media. 

The announcement comes as new figures from a UK Government report showed both countries are leading in the safety technology sector, which contributed more than £600m to the British economy over the past year.

It also comes two weeks before the Online Safety Act hits the year mark since receiving Royal Assent. Introduced last October, the legislation places new duties on social media companies in a bid to make them more responsible for the content on their platforms.

The statement outlines both countries’ commitment to ensuring the benefits of technology can be maximised for society, as well as social media companies’ responsibility to respect human rights and deliver safe experiences, especially for children.

The US Government established in March 2023 the Kids Online Health and Safety Taskforce to strengthen protections for children's privacy and health online.

Raimondo said: “As more children across the US and around the globe have access to online platforms for online learning and social media, there is also increased risk to this exposure. That is why we are taking the necessary steps in the United States, and with our UK partners, to protect children’s privacy, safety, and mental health.

“We remain committed to combating youth online exploitation and this historic agreement will help us expand resources to support children and young people thrive online at home and abroad.”