Citizen’s Post

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee faces CEOs from Meta, X, Snap, TikTok and Discord in a full committee hearing on online child exploitation. Since last year’s hearing in February on online child safety legislation, several new bipartisan bills that aim to make the internet safer for children have been introduced, including the EARN IT Act, the REPORT Act, the STOP CSAM Act, the SHIELD Act, and the Project Safe Childhood Act. These bills are endorsed not only by PACT, but by all of the members of the End OSEAC (Ending Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children) Coalition. The End OSEAC Coalition is an advocacy coalition that seeks to amplify the voices of experts in this field, and to push the U.S. government to act to protect children’s safety online. An expert in the field of child safety is the adult that experienced exploitation as a child. That’s why the End OSEAC Coalition has a Survivor’s Council whose members will be submitting testimony to the hearing, sharing their lived experiences and their support for the proposed legislation. The End OSEAC Survivor’s Council urges Congress to keep tech companies accountable, to pass legislation that helps protect our children, and to do it soon, before it’s too late. From their testimony: “We do everything to keep our children safe but sometimes no matter what we do, it’s not enough.”    Their message is clear: it’s time to take action to protect our children online now! More about the End OSEAC Coalition and their response to the hearing can be found here: bhttps://lnkd.in/gn54ajNP #ProtectKidsOnline #EARNITACT #REPORTACT #STOPCSAMACT 

Things. Are. Happening for children. Often, working in the world of policy advocacy, progress can feel excruciatingly slow. But for online child safety – momentum is building—fast. Our campaign last fall to #TakeItDown was incredibly successful – and thanks to the End OSEAC Coalition, our supporters and the many other parents, child advocates, organizations and policymakers who are passionate about fixing this issue of online sexual exploitation and abuse, we are coming to what feels like a monumental opportunity – to take Big Tech to task, on the record, in front of the nation and the world.  Next Wednesday, Jan 31, at 10am, for the first time, five CEOs from Meta, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Snap, and Discord will all testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on how they’ve failed to protect kids online. They will be in the hot seat and lawmakers will be able to press them on these failures. They will be able to ask tough questions – from this movement on behalf of all the survivors, worried parents, educators, child advocates and everyone else who cares about what our children are experiencing when they are on these platforms. We want these companies to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material, and to meaningfully prioritize child safety. We also want the multiple – and bipartisan - online child safety bills currently in play to pass. It is past time for legislation and accountability. The ChildFund team will be live-tweeting from the hearing over on our X handle @ChildFund, so please follow along. Or, watch it for yourself here: https://lnkd.in/e7ZbMGrB   Stay with us. Stay vigilant. Stay informed. We are all needed.

A big shout-out to the National Commission for Women (NCW) for "Her Legal Guide" App. The App is intended to legally empower women with just a click; it provides basic information on various laws protecting the rights of women, links to a 24x7 helpline, etc. While it is too early to comment on the workings or usefulness of the App, it is definitely a good initiative by NCW. Ladies, please download the App and check it out (please ignore if you are already using it). It will definitely be useful in some way or another.   #ncw #womenempowerment #herlegalguide

We must change the story, challenge misogyny and violence, and make sure women are heard. Women and girls everywhere should be able to access the help they need when they need it, so we can end violence once and for all. Download SmartRR on Play Store and App Store to report any form of gender-based violence. #16daysofactivism #stopviolenceagainstwomen #endgenderbasedviolence #smartrr #bigfamily360foundation

We must change the story, challenge misogyny and violence, and make sure women are heard. Women and girls everywhere should be able to access the help they need when they need it, so we can end violence once and for all. Download SmartRR on Play Store and App Store to report any form of gender-based violence. #16daysofactivism #stopviolenceagainstwomen #endgenderbasedviolence #smartrr #bigfamily360foundation

Are the tech giants doing 'enough' to protect children? Tech giants like Meta, Discord, Snapchat, X (formerly twitter) and Tiktok were questioned regarding safety of children on their platforms. As expected, it once again brought to light the existing gaps and the urgent need to have stronger mechanisms for protection of children from online sexual harm. It calls for greater accountability from the tech giants to ensure robust safety mechanisms on online platforms. We strongly hope that these forums lead to actioanble steps towards protecting children online and creating a safe online experience for children. Link to the article: https://lnkd.in/gFYJq5Y5 #childsafetyonline #ChildSafetyEverday

At GRIT - Gender Rights In Tech (Formerly Kwanele Bringing Women Justice), we use tech for good and we have harnessed the power of technology to make a difference.   Through our tech-based solutions, we facilitate reporting, provide guidance, connect survivors to legal professionals, and offer in-person court support and access to post-violence care. This year, we're aiming for 10,000 GRIT app downloads to ensure no one gets left behind. #Roadto10k Here's how you can be part of the solution: Download the app: It's FREE, confidential, and connects you to immediate support: Google Play: https://lnkd.in/daZKVE65 IOS: https://lnkd.in/d-8yKujH Spread the word: Share this post and let others know about our app. For companies: Like getWorth, prioritize employee safety and well-being. Get your team onboarded! (Contact us at info@grit-gbv.org) ANYONE might experience GBV. GRIT offers: Emergency Help: Panic button with live audio recording for immediate response. Support Network: Find local counsellors, shelters, and legal aid. Building Your Case: Securely store evidence (photos, documents) for up to 10 years. Download our GRIT app today and use the FREE membership code: 5LUH4HL8 Together, we can create a safer future. #GRIT #GBV #SouthAfrica #Safety #contactus #support #getinvolved #share #endgbv

It was a pleasure being invited to attend an insightful panel discussion on Empowering Women in the Digital Age by the Centre for Social Research India, supported by the Netherlands Embassy in India. Veteran journalist barkha dutt initiated the thought-provoking discussion with the paradox of women being denied access to technology that could empower them with a world of opportunities while the same technology is being weaponized to troll women into silencing them, morphing pictures, creating deep fakes, and bullying them into going off social media or fighting back online violence that is a reflection of violence against women in real life. The learned panel delved into pertinent questions about the role of big tech in implementing safety measures to prevent digital harm; the #mentalhealth impact of online bullying and other forms of digital risks; the need to increase #digitalliteracy among #children, #teachers, #parents, and the #community through #training, and #safetymeasures available on digital platforms for everyone to be safer on the #internet. It was a great opportunity to share my learnings from working in #childprotection and my understanding of #ai being used at an unprecedented scale to generate Child Sexual Abuse Material (#csam) around the world. The event also provided a conducive platform to share the work on #digitalsafety that we do at Space 2 Grow with colleagues from like-minded and partner organizations. My highlight of the event was a candid chat with H.E Ambassador Marisa Gerards who, on learning that I work on child protection, asked me 'why I do what I do.' The conversation with the Ambassador reminded me of the reason why I chose to work toward empowering children, and her overwhelming support and encouragement were incredibly inspiring to carry on the crusade toward keeping children and women safe online and in physical spaces. #onlinesafety #gbv #endviolenceagainstwomen #womensrights #womensrightsarehumanrights #empoweringwomen #childrights #childsafety #childrensrights

👀 Let’s talk about #KOSA. Despite #BigTech opposition and lies about this bill, the Kids Online Safety Act requires digital platforms to “exercise reasonable care” to prevent their product from endangering kids. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snap Inc., Discord, and Twitter (X), are designed to facilitate sexual exploitation, eating disorders, depression, access to drugs, and other harms. With KOSA, companies will be required to design this apps with the safety of children at top of mind. The momentum demanding common sense measures is here! We need these companies to design with safety in mind, not to be #DangerousByDesign! Read more here! 👇 https://lnkd.in/gmX9HpEf

Sign petition no please - just do it! ✅ #briannaLaw https://chng.it/M4qZyPPXDn If you are a parent, aunt or uncle, friend with young children in your life or just care about humanity then please share … I am deeply upset and concerned, as many of the barbaric murder of a sweet young transgender, Brianna. Brutally murdered by so-called friends due to the influence of dark web content. It is also deeply disturbing that many young girls post provocative images and videos of themselves on #TikTok from their bedromms while their parents remain unaware of their online activities! What's worse these images can be stolen by AI-powered deep fakes. I am not a parent, but some days, relieved I am not —it's so distressing and appears to be out of control unless something is done by governments working with tech companies to put controls in place fast!   Brianna's mother: "I would like to see mobile phone companies and tech companies take more responsibility for children's welfare. I'd like to see mobile phones specifically made for under-16s who can't access social media sites in the first place. I want a link to the adult's and parent's phones. There is already software available because schools are using this kind of software that can flag up concerning words so that if a child is searching for what Brianna's killers did, then it would flag up instantly to the parent's phone. Then they will be able to take action." THIS SHOULD BE MADE AN INTERNATIONAL LAW!   https://lnkd.in/eUpV-2BW see less