Internet Safety Technical Task Force meeting roundup

One week ago, September 23-24, the Berkman Center hosted a day and a half-long public meeting of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF) here at Harvard Law. Materials and media from the meeting -- including technology submissions, presentation slides, and video -- are being made available for those who were unable to attend or watch the webcast.

Here is the summary from the ISTTF open meeting webpage:

...The purpose of this meeting was to give members of the public an opportunity to learn about the work of the Task Force, to explore the different technology-related problems and solutions under consideration, and to raise questions and share ideas about the complex reality of youth online behavior.

The agenda for Tuesday, September 23, included remarks by Attorneys General Martha Coakley (MA) and Richard Blumenthal (CT), followed by 15 presentations of internet safety tools utilizing a variety of technologies, including age verification, biometrics, filtering and auditing, text analysis, and combinations thereof. The 15 presenters were selected from the 38 companies that submitted technologies for consideration by the Task Force. Selection of companies to present was geared towards providing a cross-section of the current technology landscape in the context of the problem at hand, including the practical limitations and potential social/policy implications of different kinds of solutions, so as to facilitate public discourse and collective learning. The presentations were intended to help illuminate important aspects of the whole problem of youth online safety, and what makes it a difficult and elusive problem to solve. Selection to present was in no way intended as an endorsement of any one technology or company over any other that participated in the process. All 38 companies that submitted to the Task Force were invited to participate in an open poster session during the public meeting.

On Wednesday, September 24, participants heard presentations by two leading social network sites regarding recent measures they have undertaken to make their sites safer for youth, followed by a first-hand youth perspective on how teens currently use and experience such sites. The public meeting concluded with an open discussion session.

The full agenda follows, with links to videos, presentation slides, and technology submissions (videos expected by Friday, October 3).

For those who would like to explore the issues further, the ISTTF Documents page provides access to other ISTTF research presentations, as well as quarterly reports and minutes.