FOSI 2021 Annual Conference

As kids and teens head back to school, families across the country and around the world are facing new challenges for this unusual school year. Students are returning to classrooms in a variety of ways, including online, hybrid, and in person — alongside anxious thoughts, worry, and apprehension.

As a post-pandemic world begins to emerge, we find ourselves in a drastically altered “new normal” when it comes to the online world.

As kids and teens spend more time on screens and devices, the impact on their mental health must be considered.

On Thursday March 11, the Family Online Safety Institute hosted the latest installment of its FOSI Briefs the Hill series, “In Conversation With Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA-03) and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10).” 

This online workshop compared attitudes toward digital parenting in the US and APAC regions, bringing together representatives & participants from industry, civil society, academic and the public sector to discuss online safety, how we think of digital citizenship and how to respond to the many challenges and opportunities that digital technology poses to children and families.

On November 18th, we hosted the premier online safety event of 2020 – live and virtual! This year’s event, “Building Resilience,” covered the many changing elements of online life, for ourselves, our families, and our world. The inherent obstacles and vast benefits of the digital world have become apparent to all of us now more than ever, and we explored these issues against the backdrop of a quickly changing social and cultural landscape.

As many families prepare for distance learning during this unprecedented back-to-school season, concerns around the efficacy of virtual education and increased screen time are coming to the forefront.

In July 2020, the stories leading our news cycle have immediate impacts on public health, social dynamics, and the state of democracy in the face of an upcoming US election. The ways in which information on these topics has been disseminated shows how easily false and misleading coverage can spread online, making it difficult to prioritize safety and accuracy.

As coronavirus lockdowns worldwide have increased the hours per day that kids and teens spend online, so have their use of gaming platforms. For parents, this raises many common concerns around gaming such as compulsive overuse, age appropriate imagery, and how to mitigate potential safety risks.

The global pandemic has upended the rhythm of life for most families. Parents are either doing their best to homeschool their kids while working from home, or heading out to do essential jobs. Kids are missing the structure and routine of school, extracurricular activities, sports - and now even summer camp is endangered.

This webinar will follow a report of online child sexual abuse material from its first detection to final prosecution, shining a light on the work of the essential actors who combat the spread of this illegal content. In a series of expert presentations, representatives from industry, non-profits, law enforcement, and the Department of Justice will go behind the numbers and examine what goes into a report and how working together can eradicate this material from the Internet.

The full webinar discussion between Stephen Balkam, Trisha Prabhu, and Rosalind Wiseman can be viewed here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtsoonfpmqYRecent stats have shown us that kids' time spent on devices is surging during the pandemic. As their social lives and educational environment move entirely online, will it mean an increase in bad behavior and bullying?On Tuesday, May 12, Stephen Balkam, Founder & CEO of FOSI, moderated a discussion about digital citizenship and civility. For the parents of younger kids who may not have started the conversation yet, as well as tech savvy teens, now is the time to create guidance on how they can use technology for good, treat others well, and cultivate a positive presence in what is now a completely virtual world. How can we work to create a message of togetherness while staying apart?

Encryption’s purpose has always been to defend information from unauthorized access. This joint webinar with ACT | The App Association explored how strong encryption is used to protect vulnerable populations from theft, violence, and privacy harms, address law enforcement challenges, and evaluate policy proposals that may impact encryption.

This event convened leaders across industry, government, academia, and the nonprofit sector to discuss a wide spectrum of topics within the areas of best practice in technology policy, digital parenting, privacy, ethics, and artificial intelligence, among many more.