IPPPRI26: a reflection

It was completely unintentional that we held our annual conference right in the middle of two major government announcements linked to harms caused by social media. Last week, on the day our conference began (8 June), the government set out its ambition for Britain to become the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images.

They said that under new plans, big tech companies like Apple and Google must activate built-in features or implement technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children.

Just a week later, we heard the news that from spring 2027, under 16s will be banned from key social media platforms.

Our event sat at the centre of a loud, complex, and at times deeply divided debate on this topic.

Shining a light

Our intention at conference was not to support or contest any of these government plans. It was to bring some of the most pressing subjects linked to online exploitation to the fore, to introduce areas little understood, to stimulate discussion, and to encourage action to further shared work in these areas.

We’re so pleased that this is exactly what we did. Almost 300 delegates attended, representing more than 120 organisations spanning policing, public protection, education, health, the third sector, technology, academia and far more.

We designed a programme that focused on prioritising prevention and shone a light on a diverse range of issues, from the extremely harmful area of ‘com groups’ to the impact of neurodiversity on offending and vulnerability, from the importance of workplace wellbeing to groundbreaking research on understanding perpetrator behaviour.

Hearing first-hand accounts

The content was incredibly difficult at times. We were moved and deeply saddened by the lived experiences we heard. Listening to a survivor of online abuse, followed by the devastating experiences of our parents’ panel – Ellen Roome, Miranda Jackson and Esther Ghey – left the room tangibly impacted. It is the hurt and grief described so powerfully by these people that outlined exactly why we need the conversations our conference encouraged.

No parent, no child, no loved one should go through what they have. And whilst social media cannot be blamed for every part of their stories, it played a critical role and we have the power to change things.

Taking action

It was positive to follow this with the launch of the ECHO Survivor Hub, a joint initiative between IPPPRI, Protect Children and the Internet Watch Foundation. We pride ourselves on creating a platform at conference to talk and to learn, but we must also act, and this project is an example of doing just this.

Through ECHO, survivors of online abuse will now have a new route to support and will see proactive action to have their images removed from the internet, whilst also being offered psychoeducational support resources and help to understand civil remedy options.

As we come together each year, we see and hear more examples of this action. Globally, we are responding and we are making change to better protect young people.

Recognising impact

This was highlighted so powerfully when we hosted the presentation of the 2026 Excellence in Global Online Protection Awards.

The people spending their days fighting offenders online, identifying and protecting victims and supporting those who have been harmed, do so with no desire for praise. But praise them we must. Without these efforts, we would be so far behind in making a difference, and it was an honour and a privilege to be able to recognise them amongst an audience of their peers.

Creating a safer internet for everyone

Whilst we did not focus specifically on the potential Government ban of social media for under 16s, we strongly believe that the discussions at conference highlighted the need for a rounded, comprehensive approach to addressing these issues.

It is right that Government has acted. Technology companies have shown they will not make significant changes voluntarily. Enforcement is the next step. But it must be the right enforcement. Any restrictions imposed without a full understanding of their likely impacts risk displacing harm rather than preventing it. The question is not only how we restrict access, but how we ensure children are safer as a result.

The deeper challenge is that the online environments in which this harm occurs were not designed with safety in mind. A ban on under-16s does not fix that architecture. It moves children out of spaces that remain unsafe for everyone else.

The more durable solution is to require platforms to be safe by design, to build in protections that work for all users, regardless of age, so that the online world becomes a fundamentally safer environment.

This benefits everyone. Safer platforms mean fewer adults exposed to harassment, non-consensual imagery and sexual exploitation. They mean older teenagers, who will not be covered by this ban, are better protected. They mean that when children do eventually access these platforms, as most will, they enter a safer space rather than the same dangerous one from which they were previously barred.

Looking ahead

IPPPRI supports all efforts to make children safer online and recognises that this announcement reflects a genuine commitment to that goal. We look forward to engaging with the detail as it emerges, contributing the evidence base that will be needed to assess what works, and working alongside Government, regulators and the technology industry to ensure that the protections put in place are effective, enforceable and lasting.

We’re sure that next year we will be reflecting on the next stage in these government interventions as we learn more about the platforms in scope and how these changes will be implemented. Alongside this, we will do our utmost to curate a programme packed once again with the latest in research, practice and lived experience to inform our collaborative efforts to do more.

Until then, we would like to thank each and every speaker and organisation that contributed to our 2026 agenda, our event sponsors and exhibitors for making it possible, and of course our delegates for giving their time, energy and commitment to protecting children online.

Prof Sam Lundrigan, Director, IPPPRI and Simon Bailey, Chair, IPPPRI