The aim of the seminar is to examine how the notion of “online safety” has evolved from a focus on cybersecurity to a broader regulatory concern encompassing content, behaviour, and platform governance. Valère will show how platforms, regulators, and user communities each shape competing definitions of safety, revealing tensions between commercial incentives, legal obligations, and fundamental rights such as freedom of expression. The analysis will also trace the emergence of “trust and safety” as a professionalised, global framework developed by industry actors to manage online risks through policies, technical standards, and dedicated teams. Ultimately, Valère will argue that trust and safety is shifting from a commercial strategy to a de facto legal requirement, transforming the governance of digital platforms and redefining the responsibilities of both private companies and public authorities.
Valère Ndior is Full Professor of Law at the Université de Bretagne occidentale and a Junior Fellow of the Institut universitaire de France. His research focuses on international law and tech regulation. He leads the "Social media Governance and Regulation program" (Innovation Chair 2022-2027) thanks to a five-year grant from the Institut universitaire de France. His current research addresses social media governance, content moderation, online freedom of expression, international regulation of artificial intelligence and international cybersecurity law. He has published several articles, book chapters and policy papers on these topics. He has contributed to the work of institutions and organisations at an international level, including the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in 2022 and the United Nations in 2023. He often delivers lectures, workshops and training sessions on these subjects in France and abroad. He is the co-author (with Emmanuel Netter) of "States and Social media: Controlling Online Discourse" (LGDJ editions, 2024, in French), a book analysing relations between States and social media companies at a global level.
- Speaker
- Professor Valère Ndior
- Hosted by
- University of Aberdeen Law School
- Venue
- Taylor Building, Block C, Room C11/Microsoft Teams