Safe Tech, Safe Kids: Confronting Social Media’s Harms to Youth

On October 23, 2023, Issue One brought together stakeholders from across children’s advocacy, tech reform, pediatrics, educational, and other communities for a comprehensive look at how social media impacts children, and how we can advance meaningful solutions to protect kids online. The event also marked the official launch of Safe Tech, Safe Kids, a campaign partnership led by Project Liberty in collaboration with Issue One, our Council for Responsible Social Media, and 5Rights Foundation.

Panel Information:

Storyteller Sessions: Social Media’s Impact on Kids and Families  

• These sessions will cut through the numbers and bring the reality of social media harms to life. Those who have been directly impacted by social media’s harms will speak out on their lived experiences.
• Storytellers: Kristin Bride, Social media reform advocate; Trisha Prabhu, Global advocate and inventor of ReThink™; Arielle Geismar, Mental health advocate & digital wellness organizer; Lee Tilghman, Author and wellness culture critic; Sydnie Collins, Founder and Host of “Perfect Timing” podcast; Mary Rodee, Social media reform advocate; Maurine Molak, Social media advocate and Co-Founder of David’s Legacy Foundation

Panel 1: How Social Media Disrupts our Children’s Communities

• A multistakeholder panel examining how the online world disrupts the real, physical environments in which children are raised, from their schools to their social, political, and geographic communities. 
• Panelists: Laura Marquez-Garett, Attorney at Social Media Victims Law Center; Dr. Mitch Prinstein, Chief Science Officer at the American Psychological Association; Imran Ahmed, Founder & CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Lynne Harris, Board Member for Montgomery Board of Education; Linda Douglass (moderator), Senior Vice President at Atlantic Media and Communications Director in the White House’s Office of Health Reform

Panel 2: How Generative AI Will Impact Child Online Safety   

• Artificial intelligence (AI) has entered a new era, with generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney now being used by hundreds of millions of users worldwide. This panel will unpack the ways in which these products will intersect with minors online, from amplification of existing harms and the creation of new artificial connections to the strengthening of threat mitigation techniques.
• Panelists: Ravi Iyer, Managing Director of the Psychology of Technology Institute at the University of Southern California’s Neely Center; Martina Larkin, CEO of Project Liberty and International Advisory Board Member on the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology; Dalia Hashim, AI and Media Integrity Program Lead at the Partnership on AI; Camille Carlton (moderator), Senior Policy Manager at the Center for Humane Technology

Panel 3: How to Build a Safer and Healthier Online Environment for Kids

• To conclude the event, tech reform and legislative experts will offer paths forward for making social media safer and healthier for kids. In this panel, we’ll hear from leading experts pioneering platform and policy-level changes across the world.
• Panelists: Frances Haugen, Facebook whistleblower and Founder of Beyond the Screen; Trisha Prabhu, Global advocate and inventor of ReThink™; Frank McCourt, Executive Chairman of McCourt Global and Founder of Project Liberty; Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers; Dick Gephardt (moderator), Fmr. Congressman (D-MO) and House Majority Leader

Note: This is a public education event about the harms of unchecked social media on children. While state and federal legislative solutions will likely emerge during the conversation, this event is about advancing the important dialogue on this crucial issue, rather than specific legislative solutions. Views expressed by the panelists are their own.