Understanding the
world we live in

The future of sports is being shaped by artificial intelligence, and nowhere was that clearer than at the SportsPro AI conference at London Stadium last week.

The Lionesses’ Euro 2025 win sparked celebration online but just days earlier, Jess Carter faced racial abuse during the tournament. Teammate Lucy Bronze spoke out, revealing an uncomfortable truth: online support is often conditional. Praised in victory, targeted in defeat. This performative pattern must end. Abuse should never be normalised, and compassion shouldn’t depend on the score.

Let’s cut to the chase: The UK Online Safety Act is now law. And if your brand runs any kind of digital platform, from social media to forums, e-learning, or creator tools, this affects you. This isn’t guidance. It’s now your legal obligation. Fail to comply? You’re looking at serious fines, public damage, and platform takedowns. Ignore it, and you don’t just fall behind … you risk everything you've built.

On 18 June, the world marks the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, a moment to reflect on the damage caused by hate-fuelled language and to renew our commitment to dignity, inclusion and respectful expression. At Freedom2hear, we recognise this day as a vital reminder of the shared responsibility we all carry in shaping public discourse that is fair, just and safe for everyone.

Freedom2hear’s rebrand reflects our growth and ongoing commitment to creating safer digital spaces. With a fresh visual identity, an updated website, and more streamlined services, this rebrand marks an exciting new chapter—and reinforces our dedication to enhancing your experience with our products.

In recent years, online abuse targeting female athletes has escalated dramatically, posing significant risks to their well-being and professional careers. These disturbing trends underscore the urgent need for stronger protections for athletes, particularly female athletes, who are disproportionately impacted by such abuse. The situation highlights the growing importance of creating safer, more inclusive online spaces within the world of sports.

The Netflix series Adolescence has ignited crucial discussions about the profound influence of social media on today's youth. This article highlights the urgent need for responsible and psychologically informed content moderation. Drawing from real-world data, social and emotion psychology theories, it underscores how advanced moderation technologies, like those built into our social media solution, can help prevent harm by identifying nuanced patterns of toxicity, decoding hidden language, and supporting healthier digital environments.

The blog post outlines the challenges in benchmarking emotional intelligence in AI systems, highlighting issues such as subjective scene settings, ambiguous labelling, and hidden assumptions that often lead to inconsistent evaluations. It calls for an interdisciplinary, nuanced approach - one that not only measures outcomes but also examines the reasoning behind responses, and their consistency - to better capture the complexities of human emotion in real-life scenarios.

Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement on changes to Meta’s content moderation and fact-checking policies has been nothing short of a seismic shift. Meta, a company that has alternated between being a bastion of free expression and a staunch enforcer of digital boundaries, seems to have embraced its inner time-traveller, careening between extremes like a Delorean navigating temporal paradoxes. While this move is positioned as an evolution, it raises more questions than answers. Who wins, who loses, and what can we learn from platforms like Reddit? Let’s unpack.

In 2024, AI is advancing industries like healthcare, space, and education, accelerating drug development, predicting protein structures, and personalising learning. It's also improving customer service, manufacturing, and tackling environmental challenges, highlighting its transformative potential.

The article discusses how AI can learn from Walt Disney’s emotional connection with audiences. It emphasises the importance of empathy, trust, and positive experiences in AI development. By prioritising emotional intelligence, AI can foster meaningful interactions and create safer online spaces. Freedom2hear applies these principles by using AI to moderate content, protecting users’ freedom to hear while maintaining respectful dialogue. This approach ensures that digital environments remain inclusive and positive.

The integrity of sport is paramount in today’s professional landscape, particularly in football. As a central pillar of this integrity, players must be equipped with the knowledge, tools, and resources to navigate the complex challenges they face both on and off the pitch. Recognising the importance of education and safeguarding, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) recently conducted a series of essential integrity training sessions for players across the A-Leagues.

This Anti-Bullying Week, Freedom2hear highlights the impact of cyberbullying on young people, with 37% of those aged 12-17 affected in 2024. To combat this, Freedom2hear’s Emotion AI detects and removes hate speech, harassment, and threats, helping create a safer online space. By raising awareness, promoting mental health resources, and empowering bystanders, we aim for a kinder internet. Let’s work together for positive change against cyberbullying.

The ICC partnered with GoBubble to trial an AI tool that detects and removes abusive comments from social media, aimed at protecting women cricketers online. During the Women’s T20 World Cup, the AI scanned 1.5 million comments, finding nearly 18% contained abuse or spam. This initiative helps players engage with fans safely, supporting the ICC's goal to make cricket more welcoming for women, with plans to expand the program as the sport grows.

Imagine training for the Olympics – the ultimate challenge where every second counts and every decision matters. Now, imagine doing it without a coach. Difficult, right? In this metaphor, our AI is the coach, and the human moderators are the athletes striving for gold.

At GoBubble we’re thrilled to share we have been acquired. The multi-million all cash deal marks a new chapter in our mission to make the internet a safer place for all.

GoBubble collaborate with The A-Leagues and their annual Pride Celebration!

🥳🇦🇺🇳🇿⚽️ “It’s great to see this successful partnership being extended to ensure players and fans alike can continue to enjoy the sport they love without being subjected to harmful content." Julie Inman Grant “Online abuse is absolutely not acceptable in football or any walk of life, so we are thrilled to extend our vital partnership with GoBubble." Nick Garcia

Why is women’s football still the focus of so much online misogyny and hate, and how do we protect players from it?

Congratulations to our Founding Director Danielle for her 2024 award nomination for 'Inclusive Innovation', by the prestigious Northern Power Women Awards.

We Care About Impact in all we Do

In a significant stride towards promoting online safety, Henry Platten, the esteemed President and Chief Bubbler of GoBubble, proudly represented the organisation as a guest speaker at the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) 2023 Annual Conference in Washington.