Is the internet getting safer?
Our discussion in The Green Room
As part of our Deloitte Yearbook, we’re revisiting some of the standout conversations from The Green Room podcast.
Over the past year, the series has explored the big questions shaping business and society, with each episode bringing fresh perspectives from experts across Deloitte and beyond.
Following The Green Room’s question from two years ago – How do we stay safe online? – this episode asks Is the internet getting safer?
Since that first discussion, advancements have been made. But progress rarely moves in a straight line.
So, how far have we really come in making the internet a secure and empowering place for everyone? Cosima Wiltshire from youth-led digital wellbeing movement FlippGen and Deloitte’s James Smith share their thoughts in The Green Room.
Five things we learned from this episode:
1. Regulation has strengthened, shifting the debate from ‘if’ to ‘how’
The discussion around digital safety has moved from questioning whether regulation is needed to focusing on what and how to regulate. The conversation is no longer theoretical, and it’s shaping the design of the virtual world.
The Online Safety Act 2023 and other new codes of conduct have strengthened the requirements on platforms. As Cosima Wiltshire highlights, youth led advocacy, such as FlippGen’s For Us campaign, is pushing for collaboration to achieve a safer digital space.
2. Generative AI is accelerating both risks and solutions
AI is developing so quickly it's hard for regulators to keep pace. This technology isn’t creating new problems so much as supercharging existing ones. Issues like disinformation, says Cosima, are being amplified through AI, with the emergence of deepfakes and other synthetic content.
James Smith, head of Trust & Safety at Deloitte, notes that the unprecedented adoption of GenAI tools – “faster than electricity… faster than the smartphone" – is fuelling online threats and professional opportunities. While AI accelerates fraud and erodes trust, it also powers detection tools and safety systems. Regulators now have the challenge of balancing the risk and the reward.
3. Business will increasingly compete on trust
No longer a soft concept, trust is now one of the business world’s most valuable assets. James highlights that online safety risks can create reputational, operational and financial risks, ultimately affecting share prices.
In the future, he says, platform selection will hinge on trust, so businesses will need to define what trust looks like to reap the benefits.
Cosima adds that young people “crave transparency and authenticity,” especially in an era where they “don’t know if what they’re looking at is real.”
4. Digital literacy is emerging as a powerful long term solution
Online regulation puts guardrails in place, but individuals need digital literacy to navigate risks as they arise. This is growing in importance as the internet becomes increasingly synthetic.
James believes digital literacy must be embedded early and integrated into the national curriculum. It fills regulatory gaps, empowers users to spot potential danger and supports safer platform engagement.
5. Safety by design isn’t consistently adopted
James explains that safety by design can embed protection into product launches, policy writing and user onboarding. It includes clear safety tools, such as reliable age verification.
But adoption remains uneven – not just due to tensions between safety, privacy and free speech – but because translating regulatory principles into practical platform design can be slow.
Stronger collaboration is needed across platforms, governments, schools and civil society to bridge the gap and keep people safe online. It’s especially important for vulnerable young people who rely heavily on digital spaces.
Get in touch
Mark Heads
Podcast and Brand Content Execution Lead
mcheads@deloitte.co.uk
