Introducing Powering Privacy: Conversations Shaping the Future of Children’s Privacy & Safety

Children’s privacy and safety have moved from a niche compliance issue to one of the defining challenges of the digital economy. The decisions being made today about age assurance, AI, digital identity, privacy, and online safety will shape the next generation’s digital experiences. Yet many of the most important conversations are happening behind closed doors—between regulators, policymakers, researchers, industry leaders, and advocates. Powering Privacy was created to bring those conversations into the open.

Hosted by Claire Quinn and Denise Tayloe, Powering Privacy brings together the experts shaping the future of children’s privacy and safety to explore the challenges, opportunities, and emerging trends impacting children, families, and organizations worldwide.

Through candid conversations with leading voices across industry, government, academia, and advocacy, Powering Privacy explores the issues shaping the future of children’s digital experiences, including:

• Children’s privacy and data protection
• Age assurance and age verification
• Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
• Trust and safety
• Digital identity and consent
• Online safety and well-being
• Global regulatory and policy developments

Our goal is simple: to create a space for thoughtful, practical conversations that help organizations navigate an increasingly complex landscape while keeping the needs, rights, and well-being of children at the center.

The first episodes of Powering Privacy are available now.

We begin with a timely conversation featuring Michael Murray, Head of Regulatory Policy at the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), recorded as the UK announced new social media restrictions for minors. Michael shares insights into the evolving role of age assurance, what regulators are expecting from platforms, and why age-appropriate design and privacy protections are becoming increasingly important worldwide.

In our second episode, Dr. Sara Grimes, Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy, Professor at McGill University, and Director of the Kids Play Tech Lab, explores the rapidly evolving world of AI chatbots and companions for children. Drawing on her expertise in children’s digital rights, play, and emerging technologies, Sara discusses both the opportunities and risks these tools present, the importance of responsible design, and what organizations should be thinking about as AI becomes increasingly integrated into children’s digital experiences.

We also speak with Amelia Vance, Founder and President of the Public Interest Privacy Center, about the opportunities and challenges AI presents in education. From student privacy and AI literacy to the unintended consequences of emerging technologies in the classroom, Amelia offers practical guidance for educators, policymakers, and technology providers alike.

Together, these conversations reflect the complexity of today’s digital landscape and the importance of bringing diverse perspectives together to help shape a safer future for children online.

This is just the beginning. Future episodes will feature regulators, policymakers, researchers, trust and safety leaders, technologists, and innovators from around the world as we continue exploring the issues shaping the future of children’s privacy and safety.