6Expectations—provider will take reasonable steps to ensure safe use

6 Expectations—provider will take reasonable steps to ensure safe use

Core expectation (1) The provider of the service will take reasonable steps to ensure that end‑users are able to use the service in a safe manner. Additional expectation (2) The provider of the service will take reasonable steps to proactively minimise the extent to which material or activity on the service is unlawful or harmful. Additional expectation (2A) The provider of the service will take reasonable steps to ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in the design and operation of any service that is likely to be accessed by children. Examples of reasonable steps that could be taken (3) Without limiting subsection (1), (2) or (2A), reasonable steps for the purposes of those subsections could include the following: (a) developing and implementing processes to detect, moderate, report and remove (as applicable) material or activity on the service that is unlawful or harmful; (b) if a service or a component of a service (such as an online app or game) is likely to be accessed by children (the children’s service) – ensuring that the default privacy and safety settings of the children’s service are robust and set to the most restrictive level; (c) ensuring that persons who are engaged in providing the service, such as the provider’s employees or contractors, are trained in, and are expected to implement and promote, online safety; (d) continually improving technology and practices relating to the safety of end‑users; (e) ensuring that assessments of safety risks and impacts are undertaken (including child safety risk assessments), identified risks are appropriately mitigated, and safety review processes are implemented, throughout the design, development, deployment and post‑deployment stages for the service; (f) assessing whether business decisions will have a significant adverse impact on the ability of end‑users to use the service in a safe manner and in such circumstances, appropriately mitigating the impact; (g) having staff, systems, tools and processes to action reports and complaints within a reasonable period of time in accordance with subsection 14(3); (h) investing in systems, tools and processes to improve the prevention and detection of material or activity on the service that is unlawful or harmful; (i) having processes for detecting and addressing hate speech which breaches a service’s terms of use and, where applicable, breaches a service’s policies and procedures and standards of conduct mentioned in section 14; (j) preparing and publishing regular transparency reports that outline the steps the service is taking to ensure that end‑users are able to use the service in a safe manner, including: (i) the use of online safety tools and processes; (ii) providing metrics on the prevalence of material or activity on the service that is harmful; (iii) the service’s responsiveness to reports and complaints; and (iv) how the service is enforcing its terms of use, policies and procedures and standards of conduct mentioned in section 14. Additional expectation (5) The provider of the service will take reasonable steps to make available controls that give end‑users the choice and autonomy to support safe online interactions. Examples of reasonable steps that could be taken (6) Without limiting subsection (5), reasonable steps for the purposes of that subsection could include the following: (a) making available blocking and muting controls for end‑users; (b) making available opt‑in and opt‑out measures regarding the types of content that end‑users can receive; (c) enabling end‑users to make changes to their privacy and safety settings.