This research was commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to explore the feasibility of measuring the prevalence and impact of online harms. It aimed specifically to explore the measurement of four areas of interest, where there was no established approach to measuring harm:

• Cyberbullying
• Online abuse
• Inappropriate access to content
• Promotion of illegal / risky / dangerous behaviour, notably the promotion of eating disorders, self-harm, and suicide.

The research consisted of expert interviews alongside a detailed mapping and critical analysis of current measures of online harms.

Through the research we developed a framework for conceptualising online harm, which is now being used by Ofcom to inform their regulatory duties.

The framework borrows from Health and Safety concept of Hazards, Risks and Harms.

• Hazards: Online experiences that are a potential source of / route to harm. Hazards do not always cause harm, it is dependent on the risk factors
• Risk factors: Things that change the likelihood that a hazard will cause harm to an individual
• Harm: The negative consequence on someone resulting from a hazard combined with risk factors