More than 5 billion people use the internet worldwide. The growth and scale of digital connectivity brings benefits to the global community, but the internet needs to be a safe and secure space for all. Safety challenges related to harmful content and conduct can be amplified in the digital world. Urgent action is needed to minimize the potential harm to all people, with an emphasis on society’s most vulnerable groups, including children. The World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety is bringing together a diverse group of leaders to accelerate public–private cooperation to tackle harmful content and conduct online. Members of the coalition have worked together to develop the Global Principles on Digital Safety, intended to answer the fundamental question: “How should human rights translate in the digital world?”. The principles aim to advance digital safety in a rights-respecting way, drive multistakeholder alignment, encourage positive behaviours and actions across the digital ecosystem, and inform and enable regulatory, industry and societal efforts and innovations.