Declan Henesy

Online play thrives when communities feel safe, supported, and empowered to enjoy meaningful interactions. Beyond preventing harm, Trust & Safety leaders are designing systems that promote positive experiences, balancing safety with freedom of expression and fun. This panel will explore how platforms are reimagining player safety and wellbeing as central to the gaming experience.

• Designing game environments that encourage fairness, collaboration, and inclusive community norms
• Building tools that empower players to express themselves and engage constructively with others
• Leveraging AI and design innovation to promote positive interactions, not just to filter out negative ones
• Partnering with players, parents, and communities to co-create safe, welcoming, and vibrant spaces
• Defining new success metrics for Trust & Safety in gaming - measuring fun, wellbeing, and community health

Protecting children online isn’t just about - it is about creating digital environments where young people can actively thrive, and the value that can bring to you as a business. By embedding wellbeing into the design of products, platforms can go beyond compliance to foster resilience, creativity, and advocacy. This presentation will explore how to integrate wellbeing-by-design into the core of children’s digital experiences.

• Embedding wellbeing principles into product and feature design from the start
• Designing safeguards that reduce exposure to harmful content while promoting positive play and learning
• Exploring how inclusive design supports resilience, self-expression, and digital literacy in young users
• Aligning wellbeing-by-design approaches with evolving regulation and child safety frameworks
• Measuring success not just by harm reduction, but by outcomes in wellbeing, trust, and long-term user growth