Digital Platform Week: Ecosystem Day
Digital Platform Week: Ecosystem Day - 22nd March 2027
Morning Keynote Sessions
8:00 am - 9:00 am
Registration and Welcome Breakfast
9:00 am - 9:15 am
Chair’s Address/Welcome Address
Sian Bundred -
Director | Internet Regulation,
Deloitte
9:15 am - 9:45 am
Keynote Presentation
9:45 am - 10:15 am
Keynote Panel: Accelerating Collaboration Between Industry and Regulators
Yoel Roth -
SVP Trust & Safety,
Match Group
Aaron Rodericks - Head of Trust & Safety, Bluesky Social
Oliver Griffiths - Group Director, Ofcom
Kate Jones - Chief Executive Officer, Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum
Stephen Balkam - Founder & CEO, Family Online Safety Institute
As online risks evolve, both regulators and platforms face increasing pressure to respond quickly and effectively. This fireside chat brings together a senior regulator and a trust & safety executive to discuss where collaboration is working, where challenges remain, and how both sides can work together to improve online safety outcomes. Join this session to explore:
- Where industry-regulator collaboration is delivering positive results
- The key barriers to faster and more effective action on online harms
- Balancing regulatory expectations with innovation and agility
- Opportunities for greater transparency, engagement, and information sharing
- What stronger industry-regulator partnerships could look like in the future
10:15 am - 11:00 am
Morning Networking Break
Morning Tracked Sessions
Engaging with NGOs, Research Groups & Civil Society Stage
11:00 am - 11:45 am PANEL: Law Enforcement and Platforms United Against Fraud
As fraudsters become more sophisticated and organised criminal networks increasingly exploit digital platforms, effective collaboration between law enforcement and industry has never been more important. Bringing together investigators, law enforcement agencies and platform leaders, this panel will explore the evolving fraud landscape and the practical steps needed to disrupt criminal activity at scale. Join this session to explore:
- The most common fraud typologies targeting platform users today.
- How organised criminal networks are evolving their tactics and leveraging new technologies.
- Best practices for information sharing, escalation and cross-sector collaboration.
- How platforms can better support investigations and disruption efforts.
- Emerging fraud threats and what online platforms should be preparing for next.
Engaging with NGOs, Research Groups & Civil Society Stage
11:45 am - 12:15 pm FIRESIDE CHAT: Romance Fraud Survivors: The Lessons Every Tech Platform Need to Hear Dan Winchester - Founder, Free DatingKirsty Guest - Romance Fraud Survivor, Advocate & International Speaker, International Speaker
Anna Rowe - Co-Founder, LoveSaid
Simon Newman - CEO, Online Dating and Discovery Association
Romance fraud causes significant financial and emotional harm, yet despite the impact, platforms often fail to prevent it from happening. With fraud now a key area of focus for Ofcom as the regulator of the Online Safety Act, tech firms must act quickly to demonstrate how they are tackling this growing area of crime. In this session, we'll be hearing from survivors of romance fraud on how their own experiences can help turn the tide against bad actors and restore trust. Come to this session to learn:
- Good practice for tackling romance fraud
- The warning signs and tactics fraudsters exploit
- Lessons from survivors on platform failures and missed interventions
- Strengthening reporting, detection and user support
- Using survivor insights to improve product design, policy and fraud prevention
Engaging with Regulators & Policymakers Stage
11:00 am - 11:45 am PANEL: The State of Play in Global Trust & Safety Regulation Tanya Warren - Policy Director, Online Safety and Illegal Content, Coimisiún na Meán
With new and evolving regulations emerging across the EU, UK, Australia and beyond, platforms are navigating an increasingly complex compliance landscape. This regulator-led discussion will explore the current state of Trust & Safety regulation, key implementation challenges, examples of good industry practice and where regulators believe platforms need to improve. Join this session to learn more on:
- Understanding the current multi-jurisdiction trust & safety regulatory landscape
- Comparing regulatory priorities across key global markets
- Identifying what good Trust & Safety practice looks like from a regulator perspective
- Identifying areas where regulators expect further industry progress
- Preparing for future trust and safety regulatory and enforcement developments
Engaging with Regulators & Policymakers Stage
11:45 am - 12:30 pm FIRESIDE Chat: Joined-Up Digital Regulation: How Industry and the DRCF Can Work Better Together Kate Jones - Chief Executive Officer, Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum
As digital regulation becomes more interconnected, platforms are increasingly facing issues that do not sit neatly within one regulator's remit. Online safety, privacy, competition, consumer protection, financial harm, and AI governance often overlap in the same product decisions. This fireside chat will explore how industry and regulators can build more effective dialogue through the DRCF model, where coordination is working, where friction remains, and what both sides need from each other to respond more quickly and coherently as digital risks evolve.
Join this session to explore:
- How the DRCF is supporting more coherent regulation across the UK digital economy.
- Where cross-regulator coordination can help platforms navigate overlapping obligations.
- The practical barriers to faster, clearer and more consistent regulatory engagement.
- How industry can share evidence, raise tensions and engage earlier with regulators.
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Networking Lunch Break
Afternoon Tracked Sessions
Engaging with NGOs, Research Groups & Civil Society Stage
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm PANEL: Engaging Parents and Guardians: Building Trust Beyond the Platform Rachel Huggins - CEO, Internet MattersDr Elizabeth Milovidov - Senior Director, Global Head of Parental Advocacy, Roblox
Stephen Balkam - Founder & CEO, Family Online Safety Institute
As platforms face increasing scrutiny around youth safety, engaging parents and guardians has become a critical part of protecting young users online. However, many platforms continue to struggle with low awareness and adoption of parental controls and safety tools. This case study explores how one organisation successfully engaged families and increased trust, awareness and participation. Join this session to delve into:
- Family engagement strategies that drive trust and adoption
- Parents' perspectives on online safety challenges
- Increasing awareness and use of parental controls
- Building stronger partnerships with parents and guardians
- Applying lessons to improve youth safety outcomes
Engaging with NGOs, Research Groups & Civil Society Stage
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm SPONSOR CASE STUDYEngaging with Regulators & Policymakers Stage
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm FIRESIDE CHAT: Compliance by Design: What Regulators Need to See Emma Cochrane - Executive Director, Consumer Protection,, CMAAs digital regulation becomes more operational, regulators are looking for evidence that compliance is built into how platforms are governed, designed and improved. This fireside chat explores what compliance by design means in practice, from risk assessments and product decision-making to documentation, escalation routes and internal accountability. It will examine how platforms can demonstrate that safety, fairness and rights protections are working, while also helping regulators better understand how compliance decisions are made inside organisations.
Join this session to:
- Define compliance-by-design in practice.
- Evidence effective internal controls.
- Build proactive compliance cultures.
Engaging with Regulators & Policymakers Stage
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm SPONSOR CASE STUDY
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Afternoon Networking Break
Late Afternoon Tracked Sessions
Engaging with NGOs, Research Groups & Civil Society Stage
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm PANEL: Crisis Response in Trust & Safety: Working with NGOs When Harm Moves Fast
As online platforms face growing challenges during elections, conflicts and real-world crises, NGOs and civil society organisations are often among the first to identify emerging harms and vulnerable communities at risk. This panel explores how platforms and NGOs can work together to respond faster, share insights and better protect users during high-risk events. Join this session to explore:
- Identifying best practices for information sharing during crisis events.
- Balancing rapid intervention with user rights and free expression.
- Lessons learned from recent global crises and major events.
- Building trusted partnerships before harm occurs.
Engaging with NGOs, Research Groups & Civil Society Stage
3:45 pm - 4:30 pm PANEL: Building Trust at Scale: What the Minecraft Safety Council Can Teach the Digital Ecosystem About Collaboration Alex Holmes OBE - Deputy CEO, The Diana Award & Director, BBC Children in Need, BBC Children in NeedNate Sawatzky - Head of Player Care, Trust and Safety, Player Support, Supercell
Maria Oliveira Tamellini - Co-Founder & COO, GamerSafer
Dr Kimberly Voll, PhD - CEO, Brace Yourself Games
Vernon Jones - Head of Safety and Support, MovieStarPlanet
Carlos Figueiredo - Director, Trust & Safety, Mojang Studios
As digital platforms navigate a complex landscape with evolving safety expectations from regulators, policymakers and civil society, effective collaboration has become essential to delivering safer, more trusted digital experiences. Minecraft's Safety Advisory Council offers a practical example of how platforms can work alongside external experts and stakeholders to inform decision-making, strengthen player and brand protection, and build credibility. The organisations that succeed will be those that move beyond consultation towards genuine partnership, creating frameworks that balance innovation, accountability and user trust. Join this session to hear more on:
BBC Children in Need
- Learn how the Minecraft Safety Council informs platform decisions
- Explore collaboration models with industry peers, NGOs, and the broader Trust & Safety ecosystem
- Apply stakeholder engagement strategies to strengthen trust and safety initiatives
Alex Holmes OBE
Deputy CEO, The Diana Award & Director, BBC Children in NeedBBC Children in Need
Engaging with Regulators & Policymakers Stage
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm CASE STUDY: Researcher Access in Practice: Using Platform Data to Test ComplianceAs platform regulation moves into enforcement, independent access to data is becoming critical to understanding whether compliance measures work in practice. This case study explores how researcher access under the DSA can support a more evidence-based view of platform risks, risk assessments and mitigation measures. It will examine what meaningful access looks like, where barriers remain, and how researchers, rights experts and platforms can use findings to improve understanding, strengthen trust and support more effective compliance.
Join this session to:
- Test platform claims with evidence.
- Understand barriers to data access.
- Turn research into better compliance.
Engaging with Regulators & Policymakers Stage
3:45 pm - 4:30 pm PANEL: From Tension to Trust: Improving Platform DialogueAs platform regulation becomes more complex, better outcomes will depend on stronger dialogue between regulators, platforms and public-interest voices. This closing panel explores how collaboration can move beyond formal consultations and reactive enforcement. It will look at how earlier engagement, clearer evidence sharing and more open communication can help build trust, improve compliance and support regulation that works in practice. Join this session to:
- Strengthen platform-regulator dialogue
- Build trust through earlier engagement
- Turn shared insight into action
Afternoon Keynote Sessions
4:30 pm - 5:05 pm
End of Stream Sessions
4:35 pm - 5:05 pm
Closing Keynote Panel: Scaling Age Assurance: Lessons Learned and What Comes Next
Jordan Benavidez -
Director of Safety by Design,
Match Group
David Cooke - Senior Director Trust and Safety Regulations and Partnerships, Aylo
Iain Corby - Executive Director, Age Verification Providers Association
Age assurance is becoming a core requirement as regulation tightens, but implementation remains complex. Platforms must balance accuracy, privacy, user experience and compliance. In this fireside chat, a senior leader shares what works in practice, what doesn't, and how to avoid common pitfalls when deploying age assurance at scale. Join this session to discover:
- Assessing how age assurance systems perform once deployed at scale
- Navigating the challenges of balancing accuracy, privacy and user experience
- Preparing age assurance strategies for future regulatory and technological changes
