ONLINE SAFETY

Are you concerned about the online harm children and women are exposed to? NCW is following up its resolution to protect children from online pornography with a discussion led by OFCOM, the communications regulator, GirlGuiding whose surveys show how girls are suffering and Global Action Plan which campaigns against online hate.

Please come and support our campaigning for protection.

JESSICA SMITH - OFCOM

Jess Smith leads the Women and Girls Online Safety team at Ofcom, and previously led the Online Safety Public Policy team where she oversaw the passage of the Online Safety Act. She joined Ofcom in 2022 from DCMS, where she led the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, focussing on how the potential of data could be unlocked for the public good. Prior to this Jess spent more than a decade in HM Treasury in various policy and spending roles, and completed a three-year placement in Hong Kong where she worked for the Jardine Matheson conglomerate.

Angela Salt OBE - GIRLGUIDING

Angela joined Girlguiding as CEO in 2019. Girlguiding exists to help girls and young women find their voice, and build skills and confidence – inspiring them to discover the best in themselves and empower them to make a positive difference in their community. Previously, she worked as a consultant and philanthropy advisor and before that was CEO of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. She began her career as a teacher, then went on to become the Director of Communications at the Millennium Commission and at the Electoral Commission. Previously, she was Head of Nations & Regions for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic games and Director of Voluntary Services Overseas UK.

OLIVER HAYES – GLOBAL ACTION PLAN (GAP)

Ollie leads GAP’s campaigning for an online climate that puts people and planet first. After joining GAP in 2019 he created the ‘End Surveillance Advertising to Kids’ coalition, comprised of a wide variety of civil society organisations both in the UK and internationally. Since 2022 he has been leading GAP’s efforts to mobilise the established green movement to campaign for tech reform, recognising the threats to climate action posed by a business model that drives online conspiracy, misinformation and conflict. As part of this work GAP is now a key organisation within the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) and #PeopleVsBigTech coalitions. Ollie has also led GAP’s engagement with the UK’s Online Safety Act, pushing for a greater focus on the systemic risks of social media algorithms and design features, rather than on individual pieces of online content.

Before joining GAP, Ollie was a campaigner at Friends of the Earth for 11 years, where he led a major campaign against UK air pollution in the wake of the dieselgate scandal, and was heavily involved with FOE's successful legal action against the government's decision to green-light a third runway at Heathrow

Host or Publisher National Council of Women of Great Britain