Digital platforms now shape the conditions in which we grow up, work, and care for each other, yet we still govern them as consumer products rather than as determinants of health. In our new three-paper series in The Lancet, we argue that digital technologies call for the same public health approach we once developed for tobacco: governance built on prevention, not on repairing harm after the fact. Drawing on the precautionary principle, adaptive governance, and international framework agreements, we set out four domains in which societies can act to make digital environments safer by design. The series was launched in October 2026.
Here is the link to our three papers: https://www.thelancet.com/series-do/digital-determinants-of-health
You can watch the launch here:
And here is a selection of the press coverage that we received:
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/04/health/digital-media-kids-risks-coping-wellness
Now we need to push for policy makers to implement the safeguards that we are suggesting. Watch this space for more events to come!
