Australia and the United Kingdom have today (Tuesday 20 February)
co-signed an historic Online Safety and Security Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU), ushering in a new era
of bilateral cooperation between the two countries to support
safer and more positive experience online.
The first arrangement of its kind, the MoU has a broad focus and
encompasses a wide range of digital online safety and security
issues, including illegal content, child safety, age assurance,
technology facilitated gender-based violence, and addressing
harms caused by rapidly changing technology, like generative
artificial intelligence.
The MoU will
help amplify the world class regulatory regimes in both
countries, including the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023, and
Australia’s Online Safety Act 2021, which seek to make the two
countries the safest places in the world to be online.
The UK and Australia have a shared commitment to upholding and
promoting human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the
rule of law, both online and offline, and the MoU enshrines that
commitment.
The MoU pledges
to deepen and intensify cooperation across several key pillars,
including deeper cooperation on online safety and security.
Both governments have committed to closer cooperation in the form
of in-person dialogues, coordinated bilateral and multilateral
engagement, regulatory engagement, shared research projects, and
working with industry to address safety challenges posed by
design choices.
The partnership will allow both countries to lead the
international agenda and shape a global consensus on tackling
online harms.
The MoU will be
taken forward by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and
Technology (DSIT)
and the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport,
Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA),
in collaboration with other relevant departments and agencies on
both sides.
For more information, you can find the UK-Australia Online Safety
and Security MoU
on GOV.UK here.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, the
Rt Hon MP said:
The UK and Australia are at the forefront of online safety, and I
am proud of our internationally pioneering approaches which are
already helping to create a safer and more secure digital world,
protecting our citizens and holding platforms to account.
The signing of the joint Memorandum today signifies a new chapter
in our shared history. I look forward to building on this
partnership which will help address the challenges and harness
the opportunities of the digital age.
Australian Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland
MP said:
Both Australia and the United Kingdom are resolute in our
commitment to keeping our citizens safe online. We are likeminded
allies and key partners in the fight for safer and more positive
online experiences.
This historic Memorandum of Understanding will bring our two
countries closer together, ensuring greater collaboration and
engagement as we deal with online harms.
Working together, we will protect the privacy, safety and
security of our citizens, without stifling the innovation that is
vital for economic, social and individual progress.
Online safety is a shared, global responsibility. We must be
proactive in ensuring that our legislative frameworks remain
fit-for-purpose, and continue to evolve as new harms emerge.
