Leading Technology Companies and Foundations Back New Initiative to Provide Free, Open-Source Tools for a Safer Internet in the AI Era

Unveiled at the French AI Action Summit, ROOST equips builders with scalable solutions to promote AI safety and help protect young people in the digital age 

PARIS, Feb. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Robust Open Online Safety Tools (ROOST) initiative launched at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris. Incubated at the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, ROOST is a new non-profit organization that brings together the expertise, resources, and investments of major technology companies and philanthropies to build scalable, interoperable safety infrastructure suited for the AI era. ROOST's founding partners include Eric Schmidt, Discord, OpenAI, Google, Roblox, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, AI Collaborative, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and Project Liberty Institute. ROOST also benefits from the support and expertise of a wide set of partners from the fields of AI, philanthropy, academia, open source, child safety, and countering violent extremism.

Amongst the major announcements of the French AI Action Summit, ROOST addresses an important gap in digital safety—especially online child safety—by providing free, open-source safety tools to public and private organizations of all sizes across the globe. 

As innovative technologies continue to evolve, so too does the online safety landscape. Generative AI reshapes the online environment, increasing the need for reliable and accessible safety infrastructure. ROOST will offer free, open-source, and easy-to-use tools to detect, review, and report child sexual abuse material (CSAM); leverage large language models (LLMs) to power safety infrastructure; and make core safety technologies more accessible and more user friendly. With dedicated technical teams providing hands-on support, ROOST will meet organizations where they are, helping them integrate robust safety measures while continuing to innovate.  

ROOST alleviates the need for organizations to reinvent the wheel by building tools that already exist, empowering them—especially smaller companies and public interest organizations—to focus on growing their platforms or services while also promoting safety for online users. 

To date, ROOST has raised more than $27 million for its first four years of operations from a range of leading philanthropies and top technology companies. ROOST aims to accelerate its growth and expand its offerings to as many organizations as possible. 

Eric Schmidt, Founding Partner of ROOST and Chair of the Special Competitive Studies Project, said: "Robust Open Online Safety Tools, known as ROOST, addresses a critical need to accelerate innovation in online child safety and AI by providing small companies and nonprofits access to technologies they currently lack. Starting with a platform focused on child protection, ROOST's collaborative, open-source approach will foster innovation and make essential infrastructure more transparent, accessible, and inclusive, with the goal of creating a safer internet for everyone."

Camille François, President of ROOST and Professor at Columbia University, said: "ROOST ushers in a new era of collaborative safety innovation. By making robust safety tools accessible to all through open source, we're creating a more pluralistic and secure digital future in the age of AI. We thank our founding partners and supporting partners for their invaluable contributions to this mission."

Clint Smith, Board Chair of ROOST and Discord's Chief Legal Officer, said: "At Discord, we believe that safety is a common good. We're committed to making the entire internet - not just Discord - a better and safer place, especially for young people. While safety is integrated into every aspect of our work at Discord, we also know that continued industry collaboration is essential. We are proud to be a founding partner of ROOST, to work together with other leaders in the industry, and to contribute our innovative safety tooling to foster a safer internet for all." 

Media Contact 

Brunswick Group
Claire Thomas-Daoulas | +33 7 89 00 88 70
Celia de Pentheny O'Kelly | +1 415 774 6246
ROOST@brunswickgroup.com 

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