Today’s children are growing up in a world where childhood increasingly unfolds through online gaming, social media, direct messages, apps, and AI-powered tools. For generations, being home offered children a measure of safety. But as childhood has moved online, the platforms children use every day can expose them to exploitation, manipulation, addictive design, and harmful content.
“So sadly, there’s not one solution that’s gonna solve everything. Just like there’s not one like parental control that’s gonna solve everything. We have to come at it from different points in the tech stack.”
DAWN HAWKINS
In this Move the Needle conversation, The Policy Circle explores what it will take to protect children online while preserving privacy, free speech, innovation, and parental authority.
Sylvie Légère, the Board Chair and a co-founder of The Policy Circle, is joined by co-host Melinda Oakes, National Advisory Council member and Executive Director of the Triad Foundation, and Dawn Hawkins, CEO of Protect Privacy AI, for a wide-ranging conversation anchored in The Policy Circle’s Protecting Children Online Policy Circle Brief. Together, they examine how childhood has changed in the smartphone era and why the internet’s 13-year-old benchmark deserves renewed scrutiny. They also explore how a myriad of online harms are affecting young people and families, from sextortion and cyberbullying to AI companions, deepfakes, and algorithmic amplification.
The discussion moves listeners from awareness to action, raising important questions like:
- What role should parents, schools, technology companies, states, Congress, philanthropy, and local communities play?
- How can “safety by design” become a standard expectation rather than an afterthought?
- What does meaningful civic engagement look like for those who want to help move solutions upstream?
As Dawn reminds us, “We’re not in it alone.” Protecting children online is a shared civic responsibility, calling on families, schools, communities, policymakers, and technology leaders to work together to create safer digital environments for young people.
Continue the Conversation on Protecting Children Online
Watch the full Move the Needle conversation, read the Protecting Children Online Policy Circle Brief, and access the additional guides to continue the conversation with your family, school, workplace, or community. Host a Circle discussion with parents and neighbors using this Brief to identify opportunities to work together and protect the children in your community.
