The Global Online Safety Regulators Network has published its three-year strategic plan for 2025-2027.

We have previously commented on the Network here. Founded in November 2022, it comprises a series of regulators with a remit to oversee online safety – including Ofcom – as well as a number of ‘observer’ organisations that work on matters of online safety and collaborate with independent online safety regulators. Its mission is to “develop regulatory coherence across jurisdictions and to promote compliance with rights – respecting online safety regulation by leveraging [its] role as the only global network of and for independent online safety regulators”.

The Network’s Three-Year Strategic Plan focuses on three ‘thematic priorities’:

1. Building regulatory coherence across jurisdictions. The Network has already published a statement earlier this year on the importance of regulatory coherence and coordination (which we discussed here). It has reiterated this position, stating that “regulatory coherence is important to allow regulators grappling with novel frameworks to support one another in implementing effective online safety regulation, to enable companies to benefit from compliance economies of scale and legal certainty, and above all, to ensure that the online safety of internet users in our respective countries does not stop at the border”.
2. Contributing to the evidence base of online safety and surfacing best practices. The Network points out that the evidence base for online safety regulation is “nascent”. Therefore, it will work to draw attention to best practices which, in turn, will help regulators, governments, and policymakers share expertise and develop new regulatory tools and practices.
3. Facilitating the sharing of information and coordination to promote compliance. Finally, the Network will continue to encourage the informal sharing of information among regulators so as to “deepen our understanding of users’ experiences on platforms and strengthen our capacity to hold platforms accountable for ensuring user safety – especially where there are risks of cross-border harm or instances of systemic non- compliance”.

Addressing what success will look like in three years’ time, the Network states that, among other things, members will have developed “coherent regulatory tools and policies” and “a common set of principles for what we want to see from regulated services”. In addition, mechanisms will have been established for the sharing of information, and “global online safety community will know about the Network and understand our collective values and positions on key online safety issues”.

To read more, click here.