As our #ChildDignity congress fast approaches, we take a look at Facebook, the world’s largest social media site, and its efforts to increase online safety. Members of the Facebook team will be present at the congress and will help us bring some of our sessions to you. The team comes not only to facilitate sharing the event, but also to share their own approach to safeguarding minors online.

A week from today, we’ll hear from Facebook’s Head of Global Safety, Dr. Antigone Davis, who will speak on: How The World’s Largest Social Media Site Is Confronting These Challenges and How We Can Empower Kids to Recognize and Respond to These Threats

At Facebook, there are employees on every team--communications, policy, product, etc.--who work on safety, plus an engineering team entirely dedicated to working on this.

There is also a Safety Advisory Board. Dr. Davis consults member organizations, who provide research about online safety, advise Facebook about best practices, and review the company’s procedures. One of them, Telefono Azzurro, is a congress partner. Dr. Davis also serves on the International Advisory Board for WePROTECT, one of our congress partners, as well as the boards of the National Cybersecurity Alliance, the Family Online Safety Institute, and the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

When presenting Facebook’s efforts to increase security, privacy, and safety, Dr. Davis highlights the Facebook team’s aspiration to make the world more open and connected, emphasizing that the social media giant recognizes that people only share if they feel safe and protected.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show, in her presentation “Facebook’s Lessons Learned,” she talked about the social networking site’s development of safety policies: “Safety is a big concern for us. In fact, I would argue that it is our most important responsibility.”

To this end, Facebook collaborates with academics, NGOs, law enforcement, and other organizations to develop better policies and tools for staying safe; increase compassionate online connections; improve the prevention of abuse, cyberbullying, and exploitation; strengthen outreach and methods of reporting; and provide resources for parents and children. The team also aims to make safety a community effort and to learn from the online community about what makes individuals feel safe, and what is and is not okay to share.

 

MORE ABOUT ANTIGONE DAVIS:

Antigone Davis is Head of Global Safety at Facebook, where she works with internal teams at Facebook and with external safety organizations and government bodies to ensure that Facebook remains a leader in online safety and that stakeholders understand the steps Facebook takes to promote safety online. Antigone also spearheads the efforts of Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board, a team of leading safety organizations from around the world who provide Facebook with cutting edge research and advice on best practices, as well as its Global Safety Network. Antigone serves on the International Advisory Board for WePROTECT as well as the boards of the National Cybersecurity Alliance, the Family Online Safety Institute, and the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Prior to joining Facebook, Antigone spent 10 years working for a State Attorney General. As Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, she helped establish the office’s first online privacy and safety unit, and led the National Association of Attorney General’s 2012-2013 presidential initiative “Privacy in the Digital Age.”