If “trust is broken everywhere,” as Vinh Nguyen, a senior fellow for AI at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Tech Policy Press recently, we need to make it whole. And that's actually happening right now in spaces called "sandboxes," where some businesses, government agencies and policymakers around the world are innovating and testing products and policies – together, in real time. In a … [Read more...] about A tool for growing trust, effecting real change
online safety
What child online safety really needs, senators
It was the 2024 version of public shaming – relentless on-camera questioning designed to send a message rather than hear answers. It seemed the lawmakers already had their answers. I get their frustration that... social media platforms can't just "install" the digital version of car seats and seat belts or create product labeling like on a cigarette package these companies and their … [Read more...] about What child online safety really needs, senators
Where did my Twitter go? And other end-of-2022 notes
What a year it has been. And what a week. Or two, almost. I’ll start with the latest, because it was a telling cap-off to 2022: On December 8, three of us – Eirliani Abdul Rahman, a survivor of and activist against child sexual abuse, Lesley Podesta representing the Young & Resilient Research Center at Western Sydney University and I – resigned from Twitter's Trust and Safety Council, a … [Read more...] about Where did my Twitter go? And other end-of-2022 notes
BeReal & being real about safety & privacy
Seventeen magazine recently asked me if the BeReal app is safe for teens. Here’s their article about that, which is great but of course lots got left on the cutting floor. Here’s my full take: The way this Paris-based app is designed, it’s actually safer than a lot of other apps because it’s made for sharing just among friends. Accounts are private by default. People have to ask permission to … [Read more...] about BeReal & being real about safety & privacy
Why partner with teens on tech: Great new book
At this transitional moment for digital tech and youth online safety, the new book Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (and Adult Are Missing) feels almost miraculous to me. The first reason why is that it’s more about teens than screens. Since the beginning of public concern about youth online safety in the late 1990s, we have been almost obsessively focused on the technology, not so … [Read more...] about Why partner with teens on tech: Great new book