The Intervention Journey A Roadmap to Effective Digital Safety Measures 2025

Organizational Cultural and organizational challenges also play a critical role in hindering the prioritization of digital safety among SMEs. In many cases, these organizations are focused on immediate operational concerns, such as revenue generation and market competition, and may view digital safety as a non- essential overhead rather than a critical business priority. The lack of a safety-first mindset is often exacerbated by leadership’s limited understanding of the scope and scale of potential digital threats. Without a clear sense of the risks involved, decision-makers may postpone investments in digital safety or delegate the responsibility without providing the necessary support or resources.Regulatory SMEs also face regulatory challenges when implementing digital safety interventions. The increasing complexity of data protection laws and other internet regulations can be overwhelming for small businesses with limited legal expertise or resources. Compliance with regulations such as the GDPR, the Digital Services Act in Europe or similar laws elsewhere requires both financial investment and a thorough understanding of legal obligations. Additionally, regulatory requirements often change, further complicating SMEs’ ability to stay compliant without significant external support or legal consultation. 4.2 Solutions and considerations Free open-source resources Providing free resources that help SMEs extend digital safety measures beyond major organizations is critical for tackling digital harms. Instead of starting from scratch, SMEs can harness existing reports and resources as a foundation for their intervention strategies. This approach provides them with a starting point and guidance, easing their journey towards effective digital safety measures. For instance, the Tech Coalition offers free resources through its Pathways programme to help SMEs understand how companies can combat online child safety exploitation and abuse on their platforms. This includes guidance on external policies, content standards and reporting CSAM to local authorities, such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Partnerships Partnerships offer effective solutions to many of the challenges SMEs face in implementing digital safety interventions. Collaborating with external organizations, industry groups or government bodies allows SMEs to benefit from established interventions and resources without having to develop everything in-house. By joining forces with partners, SMEs can access best practices, technical guidance and tools that are otherwise out of reach. These partnerships can be tailored to address specific harms or industry requirements, spanning the development and implementation of an intervention, ensuring they are both scalable and effective. Additionally, partnerships can help SMEs navigate regulatory challenges by providing them with expert advice and resources to stay compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Organizational and technical decisions SMEs may avoid adding features like video due to the additional time and resources required to manage the potential harms associated with such features. It is important for these enterprises to carefully consider the risks involved before implementing new features. No organization should introduce a feature unless they are prepared to effectively manage its associated risks. An SME needs to consider its organizational maturity and development stage. The type and level of intervention that SMEs can realistically implement will differ from those available to larger organizations. Not all SMEs have the capacity to execute high- resource or highly technical interventions. Interventions should be tailored to their specific needs and capacities. This means creating scalable solutions that can be implemented with limited resources and technical expertise. Starting with basic, effective measures and gradually building their capacity will help improve digital safety practices over time. No organization should introduce a feature unless they are prepared to effectively manage its associated risks. The Intervention Journey: A Roadmap to Effective Digital Safety Measures 36