B.C. releases progress report on online safety efforts

VICTORIA - The Province has published a progress report that summarizes an effort that brought together government and technology companies to find new ways to help people, especially kids and young adults, have safe experiences online.

The Online Safety Action Table (OSAT) was created to improve online safety for all British Columbians. By working together with some of the world's biggest technology companies, including Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, Google and X, the table explored new ways to better protect people when they are online, especially children and young adults.

The formation of OSAT was announced in April 2024 and meetings were held throughout the summer. As the progress report outlines in detail, the participants discussed:

• what changes companies can make to their product or policy to better protect children online;
• creating dedicated channels to streamline the rollout of orders made under B.C.'s Intimate Images Protection Act;
• ways to for the Intimate Images Protection Service to work as a "trusted flagger" so tech companies can act quickly when a victim reports the sharing of a non-consensual intimate image or video; and
• arrangements to help amplify verified information for people during emergency situations, such as wildfires.

The Province received commitments from several technology companies to explore these issues, and to keep communication channels open.

Working to an ambitious timeline and engaging directly with some of the largest technology companies helped secure actions to improve online safety in B.C., especially for youth. Technology companies reported that OSAT influenced them to implement new safety measures and practices.

The discussions also helped point out the limitations and reliability of voluntary change, which will inform future decisions and options the Province may pursue in the future.

Learn More:

To read the Online Safety Action Table Progress Report, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/about-bc-justice-system/legislation-policy/osat/online_safety_action_table__progress_report.pdf

To learn about the Intimate Images Protection Act and how to get non-consensual intimate images or videos removed from online, visit: https://takebackyourimages.gov.bc.ca/

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