EU publishes DSA guidance on child safety risk assessments for platforms

The European Commission published detailed guidance on 15 October 2024 for very large online platforms and search engines on conducting risk assessments related to the protection of minors under the Digital Services Act, specifying that platforms must evaluate systemic risks including exposure to harmful content such as child sexual abuse material, grooming, cyberbullying and age-inappropriate material, and implement mitigation measures proportionate to those risks. The guidance clarifies that platforms should consider both the likelihood and severity of harms, assess the effectiveness of existing safety features, and ensure that recommendation systems and advertising do not amplify risks to children.

Compliance with the DSA's child-protection provisions depends on platforms' ability to identify and mitigate harm before it occurs, particularly in direct-message environments where abuse is hidden from public view. Detection systems that operate in real time at the conversation level, such as Guardii's anti-grooming, anti-sextortion and anti-CSAM modules, meet the DSA's risk-mitigation standard by intercepting harmful contact before it reaches a child, flagging escalation patterns and coercive language rather than requiring manual review of every private exchange, and enabling the platform to surface a child in crisis to the right authority without creating a feed of what was said, aligning operational capability with the duty-of-care obligation the Commission has now formalised.