SafeToNet is politically neutral and works with governments, legislators, regulators and policymakers of all political parties across multiple countries in support of child protection and the prevention of image-based harms.
Protecting children online is a shared responsibility. Technology companies, device manufacturers, policymakers, educators, law enforcement, charities, researchers and parents all have an important role to play. No single organisation or sector can solve these challenges alone.
Our role is to develop practical, privacy-preserving technology that prevents image-based harms before they occur. When invited, we also contribute to discussions with governments and policymakers by explaining what is technically possible today, the challenges involved in implementation and how children's privacy can be protected while reducing harm.
Why We Engage with Governments
Governments around the world increasingly recognise the harms associated with children seeing, sharing or filming explicit imagery on internet-connected devices. Many are developing legislation, regulation and public policy to improve children's online safety.
As a company specialising in preventative on-device safety technology, we recognise that effective policymaking benefits from understanding:
- the scale and nature of the problem
- the technical capabilities already available
- the practical challenges of implementation
- how effective protection can be delivered while preserving privacy
Our contribution to these conversations is technical knowledge and practical experience. We help inform policy discussions by explaining what existing technologies can achieve in practice.
We do not determine public policy, draft legislation or make regulatory decisions.
Our Approach
Governments regularly seek information from a wide range of organisations when developing policy, including academics, charities, industry bodies, technology companies and subject matter experts. SafeToNet may contribute factual information about the capabilities and limitations of existing technologies. Decisions about public policy, legislation and procurement remain entirely a matter for governments.
We believe effective policymaking benefits from understanding the technologies available while allowing organisations to develop different solutions that meet shared policy objectives.
The roles are distinct.
- Governments establish public policy.
- Industry develops technology.
- Independent organisations evaluate evidence and outcomes.
Maintaining this distinction supports transparency, accountability and open competition. Governments remain responsible for policy and legislative decisions, while technology companies remain responsible for developing solutions capable of helping to achieve those objectives.
What We Believe
- Children deserve connected devices that are safe by design.
- Preventing harm is better than responding after harm has occurred.
- Technology should reduce harm without compromising privacy.
- Policymakers benefit from understanding the capabilities and limitations of available technologies.
- Innovation should support public policy, never replace it.
- Free speech
- That true online safety can only happen with a collaborative approach to all stakeholders in the ecosystem.
- Openness and transparency in all we do to engender trust and strengthen our mission to keep children safe online.
What We Do
SafeToNet develops privacy-preserving technology that helps prevent children from seeing, filming, storing or sharing sexually explicit and illegal imagery.
Our HarmBlock technology operates entirely on the device, without external server calls. This means protection can be delivered without collating any sensitive data, which will always remain on the user's device. This architecture can be independently verified.
Read more about how our technology works
What We Do Not Do
To avoid confusion, SafeToNet is not:
- a government agency
- a government department
- a government contractor responsible for developing public policy
- an age verification company
- a facial recognition company
- a provider of digital identity systems
- a provider of online surveillance technology
- a system for monitoring private communications
- a platform for collecting children's personal images
Our focus is the prevention of image-based harms through privacy-preserving, on-device technology.
Our Relationship with Governments
Like many specialist technology companies, SafeToNet participates in public consultations and responds to requests for information about existing technologies. The purpose of these discussions is to help policymakers understand what is technically possible when considering options for improving child safety.
This has included responding to consultations on the UK's Online Safety Act, participating in a parliamentary roundtable organised by the Dutch House of Representatives' Standing Committee for Digital Affairs, participating in consultations in Australia and demonstrating technological capabilities to the Uganda Communications Commission. They have also included meetings in the White House, the Vatican, the Bundestag, the EU Parliament in Brussels, the United Nations and 10 Downing Street. These activities were to explain the capabilities and limitations of existing technologies. They did not give SafeToNet any role in determining public policy, drafting legislation or procurement decisions.
This is a normal part of the policymaking process and should not be interpreted as:
- an endorsement of SafeToNet or any other technology provider
- an exclusive relationship with any government
- involvement in drafting legislation
- influence over government policy decisions
- influence over procurement decisions
- a recommendation that governments adopt SafeToNet rather than another supplier
Governments define policy objectives. Industry develops competing solutions to help achieve those objectives. We support open, competitive markets in which governments remain free to select whichever solutions best meet their requirements through open, transparent tenders.
A Global Challenge
The challenges facing children online are not unique to one country. SafeToNet has engaged with policymakers and organisations across multiple jurisdictions because protecting children online requires international collaboration.
Although legislation differs between countries, the underlying objective is remarkably consistent: reducing preventable image-based harms while respecting privacy, proportionality and children's fundamental rights.
Looking Ahead
SafeToNet believes the future of digital safety lies in prevention.
We will continue working with governments, regulators, industry, NGOs and researchers to help ensure that connected devices become safer by design for children everywhere.
Our ambition is not to influence political outcomes. It is to ensure that, wherever governments choose to strengthen child protection, they are aware that practical, privacy-preserving technologies already exist to help achieve those objectives.