SafeToNet launches Labs unit as Jack Pursey becomes CEO to accelerate HarmBlock AI

The new research and development unit will focus on scaling HarmBlock AI, a device-level safeguarding technology designed to prevent harmful online content from reaching children.

SafeToNet has launched a new subsidiary, SafeToNet Labs, as the company looks to accelerate development and rollout of its HarmBlock AI child safety technology.

The move also sees Jack Pursey step into the role of CEO of SafeToNet Labs, adding a leadership shift to the company’s latest safeguarding push.

The new unit will focus on product research, design, development, and delivery for technologies intended to prevent harmful online content from reaching users, particularly children.

The launch comes as debate continues around device-level safeguards, online harms, and the role of AI in digital safety.

SafeToNet says the subsidiary will help expand deployment of HarmBlock AI, which is designed to stop the filming, viewing, sharing, and storing of explicit harmful content directly on devices.

SafeToNet announced the launch of SafeToNet Labs in a LinkedIn post, saying the newly founded division “will accelerate the global adoption of our child safety protection technology, #HarmBlock AI.”

According to the company, the new subsidiary has been created to speed up research, design, development, and deployment of the technologies behind its safeguarding work.

The company says Labs will act as a dedicated unit for building and delivering products designed to protect people online, with a particular focus on children.

Jack Pursey takes CEO role at SafeToNet Labs

The launch of the new subsidiary is accompanied by a leadership move for Jack Pursey, who now becomes CEO of SafeToNet Labs while continuing as Co Founder & Product Manager at SafeToNet Ltd, according to the information provided.

In a LinkedIn post, Pursey wrote: “Delighted to announce my new position as CEO of SafeToNet's new subsidiary, SafeToNet Labs.”

He described the purpose of the new unit, writing: “Think of Labs as a one-stop shop for product research, design, development and delivery, all with the focused goal of protecting people online from harmful content, especially children.”

Pursey added: “Labs will allow SafeToNet to move faster, build better, keep up with technology and showcase the art of the possible to deliver effective and dynamic safeguarding solutions.”

That shift signals SafeToNet is not only extending its product operation, but also putting dedicated leadership in place around research and deployment as scrutiny of online safeguarding tools increases.

HarmBlock rollout moves from concept to device deployment

Pursey also linked the new subsidiary to the company’s first hardware deployment. In his LinkedIn post, he wrote: “#HarmBlock's deployment in the HMD Fuse smartphone is our first real proof that what we're building works.”

SafeToNet says HarmBlock can be embedded at operating system level, allowing it to prevent the filming, viewing, and sharing of explicit content in real time, including in end-to-end encrypted environments and livestreams.

According to the company, the technology is designed to be app agnostic and can be embedded into phones, laptops, tablets, apps, and platforms. SafeToNet also says HarmBlock is privacy-centric, with no data entering or leaving the system, and that it is designed as a preventative tool rather than a reporting mechanism.

Pursey wrote that the creation of Labs is also tied to expected demand for stronger built-in device protections, adding: “And in the wake of plans to ensure all new phones and tablets include technology that stops CSAM, scaling operations with a dedicated Labs team is essential to push forward and accelerate the protection of more children and adults online.”

SafeToNet positions the new subsidiary as part of a broader effort to move faster on safeguarding product development as governments, technology companies, and schools continue to examine how online harms can be prevented earlier and at device level.

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