The UK’s rapidly growing safety tech sector is helping make the online world safer for millions of people, a report published today shows.
The independent study, Safer technology, safer users: The UK as a world leader in Safety Tech, highlights significant growth within the sector, with the number of dedicated online safety firms doubling in the last five years and investment increasing more than eight-fold in 2019, making it a record year.
It shows there are almost two thousand people working in more than 70 companies across the UK.
The research, carried out between September 2019 and March 2020, comes as the government launches a Safety Tech Innovation Network, the world’s first forum for safety tech providers to collaborate and showcase their work, alongside a scheme to boost exports.
Minister for Digital and Culture, Caroline Dinenage, said:
“We are all spending more time online during the pandemic and this new report shows the value the safety tech sector could add as we look to power growth out of it.
“Its innovative products, many of which are developed in towns and cities across the country, are being used globally to help companies make their online platforms safer.
“The government is leading the world developing online harms laws and it’s great to see our brilliant British tech industry is part of the solution.”
The companies highlighted in the report are providing tools to help protect users online and demonstrating the UK tech sector can be a central to tackling the challenge.
While the research for the report was carried out prior to the impact of coronavirus, high growth rates are still projected for the safety tech sector driven by increased demand for their products. The main findings of the report are:
The sector consists of companies in fields such as data and computer science providing a range of tech solutions and applications to help increase safety on websites and in apps and video games such as those allowing user-generated content and interactions.
To further capitalise on the sector’s success, and in response to the report’s recommendations, the government is today announcing: