Regulating the Digital World, Protecting Youth: The Challenge of the Trust & Safety Forum 2026

What is the purpose of regulating the digital world? Has the Digital Services Act already failed? What is the Trust & Safety Forum really for? These are some of the direct questions answered by Jean-Christophe Le Toquin, co-founder of the event, which will celebrate its 5th edition in 2026.

As the first European event dedicated to this still-emerging discipline that contributes to making our digital experiences safer—and still today the only conference of its kind in continental Europe—the Trust & Safety Forum has consistently brought to public attention key yet often overlooked issues.

While online child protection has always featured prominently on the agenda, reflecting society’s deep concern for the matter, the Forum has also shed light over the years on the work of content analysts and the importance of ensuring good working conditions for them, the voices of victims, the protection of women from online violence, and more recently, the dangers of hybrid threats—at the crossroads of child abuse content, hate speech, and terrorist incitement.

For the 2026 edition, whose main themes can be found in our online program, our focus is on youth—that age group between minors over fifteen and young adults under thirty, navigating the often rigid legal boundaries between childhood and adulthood. Highly active online, quick to take advantage of innovation but equally exposed to online harm—what do we really know about them, and what voice do they have in shaping this digital world that, in truth, is anything but virtual?

In terms of format, 2026 continues the model introduced in 2025: a first day open to everyone, encouraging maximum inclusion across the cyber community, followed by a second day limited to three workshops of up to 50 participants each—registration required—to foster in-depth and trusted discussions.

We look forward to welcoming you on March 31 and April 1, whether you are practitioners, regulators or authorities, current or future trusted flaggers, civil society actors, or researchers!