Visual content moderation technology company, Image Analyzer, (www.image-Analyzer.com), has commented on the international declaration on online safety signed by G7 tech leaders from the US, Canada, UK, Italy, France, Germany and Japan. The declaration lays out the nations’ shared principles on ways to combat online harms and protect young people, while also respecting citizens’ personal freedoms.
The proposals draw on the UK’s impending Online Safety Bill, which will legally oblige digital platform operators to oversee user-generated content and swiftly remove content that could reasonably be deemed harmful to other website users and the wider public, stating, “G7 countries commit to protecting human rights online and agree that tech companies have a corporate responsibility for their users’ safety. This means they should have systems and processes in place to reduce illegal and harmful activity and prioritise the protection of children. These are based on underlying principles in the UK Government’s Online Harms White Paper.”
The G7 Internet Safety Principles emphasise the role of online service providers in making the internet safer, declaring, “We BELIEVE that, including as part of their corporate social responsibility, companies should have the systems and processes in place, including safety by design principles, to take appropriate action with relevant stakeholders, including civil society and academia, to improve internet safety and reduce illegal and harmful content and activity in the online environments that they create, while respecting human rights online. We BELIEVE that companies should be transparent, including with consumers, about the presence of known illegal and harmful activity on their services, and the decisions and measures taken to improve internet safety, as well as be accountable for the decisions made to counter illegal and harmful content in line with their terms and conditions at global, national, and regional levels.”
The G7 Internet Safety Principles also acknowledge the contribution that young people can make to create safer online environments, stating, “We BELIEVE young people can be active agents for change and we have the responsibility to empower young people to shape conversations and play a positive and active role in promoting and improving internet safety.”
Commenting, Cris Pikes, CEO of Image Analyzer, said, “There is a fine balance between tackling online harms, to protect children and ensure that digital platforms are safe environments in which to learn, play and conduct business, while avoiding censoring important public conversations. We welcome the international declaration from the G7 tech leaders, which will help to shape international online safety regulations and provide digital platform operators with long-awaited clarity on their legal responsibilities around the governance of user behaviour on their platforms.”