As part of the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership’s (DTSP) ongoing commitment to transparency and broad stakeholder engagement, we are launching a new series of biannual public consultation webinars. These sessions are designed to share regular updates on our latest trust and safety standards, projects, publications, and public consultation opportunities, ensuring our work remains industry-led while benefiting from diverse external stakeholders insights.
We would like to invite you to join our inaugural update webinar, which will take place on July 27 at 11am EDT (UTC-4). This session will provide an overview of DTSP’s recent milestones and our roadmap for the coming months.
We value your expertise and hope you will join us for this discussion. Please RSVP here to receive the meeting details.
The Forum was designed to encourage online services and platform companies to maintain a strong focus on the protection of fundamental rights, especially freedom of expression and privacy, at the centre of digital safety risk assessment methodology and practice. It focused on how technology companies can appropriately assess and mitigate risks to fundamental rights, taking into account responsible business conduct guidance, diverse regulatory requirements and expectations, trust barriers, and practical considerations.
This year’s program contextualized rights protection and risk management amidst a changing global environment that is shaping the design and implementation of regulatory frameworks. Discussions highlighted how, in the regulatory discourse, contested definitions of systemic risk threaten to eclipse human rights concepts. Against a backdrop of democratic backsliding, participants highlighted that the perception of digital spaces as inherently risky may provide cover for political abuse and government overreach. Participants argued that insufficient attention is currently given to practical implementation of the risk-based regulatory approach. Especially given the proliferation of online safety laws with distinct risk management requirements, the regulatory focus on risks can lead to restrictions or removals of lawful content. Participants also unpacked the ways in which shrinking civic space impacts risk identification and mitigation.
More than 90 experts from around the world attended the Forum. In addition to the organizers, participants included company practitioners from DTSP and GNI member companies, civil society experts, academics and independent researchers, and international organisation experts. In order to encourage candid discussion, government officials and regulators were not invited to the Forum.
This report highlights more than 50 recommendations drawn from the discussions. Examples include:
Governments should explicitly center democratic values and international human rights standards within the text, design, and enforcement of risk-based public policies and regulations.
Companies should base their approaches to risk management in international human rights law and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), independently of whether they are complying with legal obligations or conducting a voluntary assessment.
Experts in business and human rights should do more to clarify how risk management frameworks can be legally and intellectually grounded in human rights.
The recommendations are ideas that emerged from the Forum’s discussion and are relevant for companies, governments and civil society to consider as they work to deliver effective regulation, risk management, and better experiences for people across the world.
DTSP and GNI look forward to continuing these conversations.
If you are interested in engaging further on this work, please reach out to us at info[at]globalnetworkinitiative.org and contact[at]dtspartnership.org.
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership today published an updated position paper, developed by the DTSP Out-of-court Dispute Settlement (ODS) Working Group, addressing the emerging ODS ecosystem under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).
First published for consultation in December 2025 and now revised and updated following consultation with stakeholders, this paper identifies best practices and proposes solutions to facilitate an ODS regime capable of delivering swift and cost-effective redress over content moderation disputes at scale. It highlights four foundational principles:
Consistent expertise and competence;
Effective eligibility, materiality and abuse prevention;
Proper use of any available internal complaints and appeals process; and
Reasonable and proportionate cost and fee structures.
The above principles are important enablers to ensure an effective and consistent ODS ecosystem and are elaborated and illustrated with case studies in the first part of this paper.
This is followed by a review of emerging best practices to harmonise procedural rules and increase the efficiency and scalability of the system. There is a clear opportunity and need for ODS bodies and platforms to align around some key operational principles. In the six months since this paper was first published, the ODS Working Group has been in regular dialogue with ODS bodies. We have made some progress, in particular as regards proposed best practice for a target set of information for ODS bodies to collect from users. As our dialogue increases understanding between the actors in this new and growing ecosystem, we aim to establish best practices in this and other areas.
At the same time, there are certain areas, such as the certification process, fee methodologies and information sharing complexities which require regulatory engagement and input to effectively foster compliant, predictable and consistent ODS market conditions.
About DTSP
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership is a unique initiative focused on promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. We are committed to developing, using and promoting industry best practices, assessment methods, and international standards, to ensure consumer trust and safety when using digital services.
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP) today announced the launch of an affiliate program that is open to organizations whose work or research directly relates to trust and safety.
The inaugural cohort is comprised of BSR, PwC, Tech Legality, and Tremau. These organizations range from one of the largest professional services firms in the world to boutique, nonprofit, and startup organizations with specialized expertise in responsible technology, digital rights, and trust and safety.
Affiliate members receive access to a growing suite of exclusive resources, including tools and training on the Safe Framework (ISO/IEC 25389), DTSP’s international standard for trust and safety. They also benefit from select networking opportunities.
Help build a safer, more trustworthy internet by joining DTSP as an affiliate. Contact us at contact@dtspartnership.org to learn more and apply.
DTSP expands its global collaboration for a safer, more trustworthy internet with the addition of e-commerce platform Temu.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP), an initiative aimed at promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet, welcomed global e-commerce platform Temu as its newest member.
Temu’s addition to DTSP highlights a growing commitment to developing Trust & Safety standards that promote a safer and more trustworthy internet. Temu joins a growing list of member companies, which includes Apple, Bitly, Bumble, Cantina, Discord, Google, Indeed, LinkedIn, Match Group, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, TikTok, and Twitch.
“Joining the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership reflects our focus on building a trusted platform for consumers,” said a Temu spokesperson. “Our goal is to make quality products affordable and accessible, and that depends on maintaining high standards across the platform so everyone can shop with confidence. We look forward to contributing to DTSP’s efforts to strengthen trust across the digital ecosystem.”
The partnership is committed to developing, using and promoting industry best practices, assessment methods, and international standards, to ensure consumer trust and safety when using digital services.
DTSP launched in February 2021 to mature and professionalize the Trust and Safety field, in pursuit of a safer and more trustworthy internet. Since then, the partnership has:
Established the Safe Framework as an international standard: ISO/IEC 25389
Identified best practices and opportunities for incorporating AI into Trust & Safety
For more information, please visit dtspartnership.org. Members of the press can contact the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership at press@dtspartnership.org.
About The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership is a first-of-its-kind initiative focused on promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership includes Apple, Bitly, Bumble, Cantina, Discord, Google, Indeed, LinkedIn, Match Group, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, TikTok, and Twitch. For more information, visit dtspartnership.org.
About Temu
Temu is a global e-commerce platform connecting consumers with millions of manufacturers, brands, and business partners. Operating in more than 90 markets worldwide, Temu is committed to providing affordable, high-quality products that enable customers to live better lives.
The Global Network Initiative (GNI) and the Digital Trust and Safety Partnership (DTSP) hosted the 2026 Rights & Risks Forum on Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17, in Dublin, Ireland. Approximately 100 participants attended this fourth edition of the Forum. Participants included representatives from DTSP and GNI member companies, global civil society organizations, and academia. In order to encourage candid discussion, government officials and regulators were not invited to the Forum and the event was held under the Chatham House Rule. We look forward to publishing a public event report in the coming weeks.
The Forum’s goal is to ensure that the protection of fundamental rights, especially freedom of expression and privacy, is at the center of company approaches to risk management.
This year’s program contextualized rights protection and risk management amidst a changing global environment that is shaping the design and implementation of regulatory frameworks. Civil society experts discussed the need to keep rights-based approaches at the center of conceptualizing and assessing risks. They also discussed how they experience or anticipate government overreach and political pressure across a range of jurisdictions, and how to guard against and push back on it. Companies spoke about how they are assessing risks, such as child safety and non-consensual intimate imagery, as well as how AI can be both a risk factor and mitigation tool. We considered stakeholder insights from varied contexts around the world in order to build understanding of relevant risks and explore how the global proliferation of regulatory frameworks is impacting digital services and their users.
The event was hosted and sponsored by Google, and sponsored by Meta, Bing, and TikTok. Sponsorship helped to cover the costs of hosting the conference, as well as event organization, and civil society travel.
About GNI GNI is the leading multistakeholder forum for accountability, shared learning, and collective advocacy on government and company policies and practices at the intersection of technology and human rights. We set a global standard for responsible company decision-making to promote and advance freedom of expression and privacy rights across the technology ecosystem.
About DTSP The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership is a unique initiative focused on promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. We are committed to developing, using and promoting industry best practices, assessment methods, and international standards, to ensure consumer trust and safety when using digital services.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP), an initiative aimed at promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet, welcomed Indeed, a global leader in job matching and hiring, as its newest member.
Indeed’s addition to DTSP highlights a growing commitment to developing Trust & Safety standards that promote a safer and more trustworthy internet. Indeed joins a growing list of member companies, which includes Apple, Bitly, Cantina, Bumble, Discord, Google, LinkedIn, Match Group, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, TikTok, and Twitch.
“At Indeed, our mission is to help people get jobs. We have always taken the trust of our users seriously, and joining the DTSP reinforces our commitment to helping ensure that every path to a new career or new hire is built on a foundation of safety, authenticity, and security,” said Matt Schemmel, Head of Trust at Indeed. “We look forward to collaborating with our industry peers to advance industry standards and share practices that help make a safer, more trustworthy internet possible for everyone.”
The partnership is committed to developing, using and promoting industry best practices, assessment methods, and international standards, to ensure consumer trust and safety when using digital services.
DTSP launched in February 2021 to mature and professionalize the Trust and Safety field, in pursuit of a safer and more trustworthy internet. Since then, the partnership has:
Established the Safe Framework as an international standard: ISO/IEC 25389
Identified best practices and opportunities for incorporating AI into Trust & Safety
For more information, please visit dtspartnership.org. Members of the press can contact the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership at press@dtspartnership.org.
About The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership is a first-of-its-kind initiative focused on promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership includes Apple, Bitly, Bumble, Cantina, Discord, Google, Indeed, LinkedIn, Match Group, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, TikTok, and Twitch. For more information, visit dtspartnership.org.
About Indeed
More people find jobs on Indeed than anywhere else. Indeed is the world’s #1 job site (Comscore, Total Visits, March 2025) and a leading global matching and hiring platform. With 645 million Job Seeker Profiles, people in more than 60 countries across 28 languages come to Indeed to discover jobs, post resumes, and research companies. Over 3.3 million employers use Indeed to find and hire new employees. Indeed is a subsidiary of Recruit Holdings, a global leader in HR technology and business solutions that is simplifying hiring and transforming the world of work.
How five years of industry consensus-building set the standard for digital safety
Five years ago, the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP) set out with a single mission: promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. We’ve executed on this mission by articulating best practices for trust and safety that can be adopted by organizations of all sizes regardless of business model, product type, or user base.
Through a framework that follows the product development lifecycle, we have a simple but powerful idea: standardize the practices organizations use to address risks, not the type of content or behavior that should be acceptable across the many digital products and services that comprise the internet.
In five years, DTSP turned a simple question — what does good trust and safety actually look like? — into an internationally recognized answer. DTSP has achieved ISO/IEC standardization, grown membership by 67%, and contributed to some of the most consequential online safety policy debates worldwide. Our work proves that industry consensus practices, done right, can raise the bar for everyone.
I. Origins: practitioner-driven best practices
Empirically describing trust and safety from a practitioner perspective, raising the bar for safety overall while remaining risk-based and proportionate.
Technology companies have made trust and safety a priority for many years. The field of trust and safety, however, had not yet developed the kinds of frameworks, assessments, and standards that had proven crucial to maturing and organizing other tech disciplines like cybersecurity and data protection.
In February 2021, DTSP launched with the publication of its Best Practices Framework, a high-level framework of concrete commitments and practical examples of best practices that are content- and conduct-agnostic. They do not dictate what sort of content or behavior a digital product or service should allow. Instead, they provide guidance that is proportionate, risk-based, and aligned with the right to freedom of expression and international human rights frameworks.
DTSP filled a gap by articulating what good should look like in the field of trust and safety, driven by the day-to-day experience of practitioners inside companies, and informed by engagement with government, civil society, and other key external stakeholders.
The open and global internet has always revolved around robust standards that ensure the interoperability of services. DTSP has brought that ethos to the development of framework and practices to address the important discussions occurring in homes, schools, and businesses around the world and at all different levels of government on what digital trust and safety should look like.
II. Evolution: adapting to regulation and advancing international standards
How a global voluntary effort can inform and align with national laws and regulations via international standards
DTSP launched with an approach that began with best practices, the development of self-assessments, followed by third-party assessments of company implementation of the practices. By December 2021, DTSP published its self assessment methodology for public consultation, receiving feedback from organizations of all types located around the world. In 2022, an inaugural report based on aggregated and anonymized self-assessments presented an unprecedented look at how companies assessed their own trust and safety efforts, identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement alike.
As DTSP developed its approach to third-party assessment, it also contended with a rapidly changing external environment. The enactment of online safety regulations in Australia, Singapore, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, among other countries, created new compliance obligations that restructured the trust and safety function within companies. Requirements for very large services to be audited in the EU, and for nearly all services to conduct risk assessments for the UK, raised questions about the necessity of voluntary assessments.
Amid these changes, the Partnership evolved its approach and engaged with the international standards community. Instead of creating a voluntary industry standard, DTSP evolved the Safe Framework into globally applicable guidance that can be used as part of compliance with regulations governing trust and safety in many jurisdictions around the world.
In 2023, DTSP became one of only a small number of organizations approved by the international committee for information technology standards that can submit publicly available specifications for review and approval as ISO/IEC standards. In January 2025, the Safe Framework was decisively approved in a vote by national standards bodies from all over the world. This vote demonstrated that the Safe Framework met the extensive document requirements for publicly available specifications. Because DTSP makes the Safe Framework available without cost, ISO/IEC 25389 is also one of relatively few international standards that is publicly available at no charge.
III. Membership and Growth
67% membership growth is just the beginning as we accelerate our momentum
DTSP has grown from its founding members to include organizations ranging from a startup AI chatbot through to the largest technology companies on the planet. DTSP companies provide a wide range of products and services, across the internet stack, to billions of people around the world.
Currently participating partners include: Apple, Bitly, Bumble, Cantina, Discord, Google, LinkedIn, Match Group, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, TikTok, and Twitch.
As DTSP has extended its membership to include a diversity of online products and services, its framework has been able to encompass a wide range of risks, including those relevant to companies whose products bridge the online and offline worlds.
DTSP membership provides a wide range of benefits:
Gain access to exclusive events, collaborations, and resources that will enhance and extend your organization’s trust and safety operations.
Contribute organizational expertise to the shaping of best practices and standards for trust and safety that account for differences in company size and business models.
Demonstrate conformity with industry benchmarks of excellence for trust and safety, while contributing to and benefiting from thought leadership that advances the field.
Collaborate and learn from peers and industry experts in a trusted environment, identifying best practices in emerging areas, such as age assurance.
Participate in the development of international standards through DTSP’s cooperation with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Drive the uptake of best practices by key stakeholders, including policymakers, regulators, and civil society around the world.
Providers of digital products and services who aspire to implement the DTSP Best Practices in their operations should consider joining the partnership, to help us shape the future of digital trust and safety.
IV. Emerging technologies and future-proofed practices
Identifying consensus best practices from age assurance to artificial intelligence
DTSP was purposely designed to accommodate swiftly changing technological development in two fundamental ways:
The Safe Framework provides a future-proofed, technologically agnostic approach to trust and safety that can accommodate new developments without being overtaken by events. The core DTSP commitments: product development, governance, enforcement, improvement, and transparency need not be reinvented to accommodate radically different technology. Rather than treating new paradigms as a clean break from the past, DTSP consistently asks how existing best practices can be adapted and extended before concluding that new ones are needed.
Academic articles, industry blog posts, and concrete contributions to urgent policy conversations
The DTSP team not only facilitates industry consensus on best practices, but also publishes research and commentary that sheds new light on trust and safety challenges and helps external stakeholders understand the what, how, and why of the practices used by companies to keep users safe. Selected highlights include:
Building on progress to make a safer and more trustworthy digital future
What started as industry consensus has grown into a global reference point for online trust and safety.
As DTSP considers the coming five years, we will continue to build on our strengths and navigate new trust and safety challenges as a Partnership:
Growing a family of digital safety standards, first by preparing our Trust & Safety Glossary of Terms for transposition as a draft ISO/IEC international standard.
Exploring appropriate approaches to assessing conformity with the Safe Framework, mindful of regulatory requirements.
Identifying opportunities to bring our trust and safety best practices into conversation with AI standards under development.
Building consensus around complex regulatory requirements and novel institutions, from risk assessments to out-of-court dispute settlement.
Our Partnership is proud of the impact we have made and we are even more excited for what is ahead.
Brussels – The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership today published an initial position paper, developed by the DTSP Out-of-court Dispute Settlement (ODS) Working Group, addressing the emerging ODS ecosystem under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).
The ODS regime creates a marketplace for redress in the EU, with new actors, dynamics and expectations for content moderation. Users, platforms and regulators are navigating unfamiliar ground, which demands a structured effort to identify challenges and build workable solutions.
This initial position paper identifies best practices and proposes solutions to facilitate an ODS regime capable of delivering swift, and cost-effective redress over content moderation disputes at scale. It highlights four foundational principles: consistent expertise and competence, effective abuse safeguards, efficient information exchange and reasonable cost and fee structures. Industry best practices are identified and described for platform onboarding of ODS bodies, user awareness, information collection, and eligibility checks. Key challenges are identified and proposed as possible areas for the development of regulatory guidance.
This paper provides an initial perspective from online platforms, designed for use in consultation with stakeholders in the DSA Article 21 ecosystem. Building an effective and trusted ODS regime requires effective engagement between online platforms, regulators, dispute settlement bodies, civil society, and users. Each holds an important perspective on how ODS functions in practice and their participation and cooperation is necessary to develop approaches that are workable, credible, and ultimately capable of serving the core objective of providing meaningful, accessible, and rights-respecting redress for users of online platforms.
DTSP aims to incorporate comments and suggestions from stakeholder engagements and looks forward to sharing its findings. Feedback on this paper can be provided by email to contact@dtspartnership.org before 15 February, 2026.
About DTSP
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership is a unique initiative focused on promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. We are committed to developing, using and promoting industry best practices, assessment methods, and international standards, to ensure consumer trust and safety when using digital services.
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP) and the Japan Trust & Safety Association (JTSA) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together in support of a safer and more trustworthy digital ecosystem in Japan and across the Asia-Pacific region.
Through this partnership, DTSP and JTSA will undertake joint outreach in support of international standard ISO/IEC 25389, the Safe Framework, working in collaboration with peer organizations to promote greater understanding and implementation of this international standard among stakeholders in Japan and across the Asia-Pacific region.
By combining DTSP’s globally applicable best practices and standards with JTSA’s deep knowledge of the Japanese digital ecosystem, the organizations will promote knowledge exchange, international collaboration, and the uptake of practices and standards that will improve online safety for users of a wide range of digital products and services.
“Ensuring user safety is a global challenge that requires strong and trusted partnerships,” said DTSP Executive Director David Sullivan. “We look forward to working closely with our colleagues in Japan to advance responsible and effective trust and safety practices.”
“Japan is experiencing rapid growth in digital services across many sectors, and the need for trust and safety practices that align with internationally recognized standards continues to increase,” said Takeaki Kanaya, Representative Director of JTSA. “By collaborating with DTSP—and by working in partnership with peer organizations across the Asia-Pacific region—we hope to contribute to a broader, shared effort to make online environments safer and more trustworthy.”
On Tuesday 25 November, JTSA will present the Safe Framework as part of a session on trust and safety at Internet Week 2025, one of Japan’s most established internet conferences. JTSA and DTSP will begin planning future joint activities and share updates on future collaborative projects.
About DTSP
The Digital Trust & Safety Partnership is a unique initiative focused on promoting a safer and more trustworthy internet. We are committed to developing, using and promoting industry best practices, assessment methods, and international standards, to ensure consumer trust and safety when using digital services.
About JTSA
The Japan Trust & Safety Association (JTSA) is Japan’s first cross-industry organization dedicated to advancing online trust and safety. JTSA brings together leading technology companies, platforms, researchers, and civil society partners to strengthen responses to emerging digital risks and promote the adoption of global best practices and standards. Through research, capacity building, and collaboration with peer organizations in Japan and abroad, JTSA supports efforts to build safer and more trustworthy digital ecosystems for all users.
Digital Trust & Safety Partnershipと一般社団法人トラスト＆セーフティ協会、国際的なオンライン安全標準の推進に向け協働を開始
Digital Trust & Safety Partnership（DTSP）と一般社団法人トラスト＆セーフティ協会（JTSA）は本日、日本およびアジア太平洋地域における、より安全で信頼できるデジタルエコシステムの実現を目指した協力関係を構築するため、覚書（MOU）を締結したことを発表します。
