Casey Stefanski: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Casey-headshot-2-1-796x1024.jpg|alt=Casey Stefanski|thumb| Casey Stefanski ]] | [[File:Casey-headshot-2-1-796x1024.jpg|alt=Casey Stefanski|thumb| Casey Stefanski ]] | ||
Casey Stefanski is an American child safety advocate and the Executive Director of the [[Digital Childhood Alliance]], a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization founded in 2025. She is a mother of three and a retired collegiate athlete who has worked in child safety advocacy since 2012.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Digital Childhood Alliance |date=April 14, 2025 |title=Meet Digital Childhood Alliance Executive Director: Casey Stefanski. |url=https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/meet-digital-childhood-alliance-executive-director-casey-stefanski/}}</ref> | Casey Stefanski is an American child safety advocate and the Executive Director of the [[Digital Childhood Alliance]], a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization founded in 2025. She is a mother of three and a retired collegiate athlete who has worked in child safety advocacy since 2012.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Digital Childhood Alliance |date=April 14, 2025 |title=Meet Digital Childhood Alliance Executive Director: Casey Stefanski. |url=https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/meet-digital-childhood-alliance-executive-director-casey-stefanski/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/ctSaM |archive-date=March 8, 2026}}</ref> | ||
Stefanski earned a degree in public policy and economics from the University of Chicago and has Capitol Hill experience working on policy issues. She is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.<ref name=":0" /> | Stefanski earned a degree in public policy and economics from the University of Chicago and has Capitol Hill experience working on policy issues. She is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.<ref name=":0" /> | ||
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During testimony before the Louisiana State Senate Finance Committee on May 29, 2025, Louisiana Senator Jay Morris directly asked Stefanski, "Are you funded by tech companies?" Stefanski initially deflected and claimed she felt uncomfortable answering the question. When pressed for a direct yes-or-no answer, she eventually acknowledged that the Digital Childhood Alliance receives funding from tech companies but refused to identify which ones.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=McKendry |first=Nolan |date=May 29, 2025 |title=Senator presses Digital Childhood Alliance on tech industry ties |url=https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_e97200f8-13d0-4b1f-90a9-e9a7093d329f.html}}</ref><blockquote>"Are you funded by tech companies?" Morris asked. Stefanski "squirmed, deflected and claimed she 'didn't feel comfortable' answering." When Morris pressed for a simple yes or no answer, Stefanski eventually admitted they receive tech company funding but flatly refused to name which companies.</blockquote>When Senator Morris asked, "So, you're not going to tell us who's actually supporting it?" Stefanski declined to provide specifics beyond naming the father of the Digital Childhood Alliance's founder as the organization's largest individual donor.<ref name=":2" /> | During testimony before the Louisiana State Senate Finance Committee on May 29, 2025, Louisiana Senator Jay Morris directly asked Stefanski, "Are you funded by tech companies?" Stefanski initially deflected and claimed she felt uncomfortable answering the question. When pressed for a direct yes-or-no answer, she eventually acknowledged that the Digital Childhood Alliance receives funding from tech companies but refused to identify which ones.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=McKendry |first=Nolan |date=May 29, 2025 |title=Senator presses Digital Childhood Alliance on tech industry ties |url=https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_e97200f8-13d0-4b1f-90a9-e9a7093d329f.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250530051109/https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_e97200f8-13d0-4b1f-90a9-e9a7093d329f.html |archive-date=May 30, 2025 |work=Louisiana}}</ref><blockquote>"Are you funded by tech companies?" Morris asked. Stefanski "squirmed, deflected and claimed she 'didn't feel comfortable' answering." When Morris pressed for a simple yes or no answer, Stefanski eventually admitted they receive tech company funding but flatly refused to name which companies.</blockquote>When Senator Morris asked, "So, you're not going to tell us who's actually supporting it?" Stefanski declined to provide specifics beyond naming the father of the Digital Childhood Alliance's founder as the organization's largest individual donor.<ref name=":2" /> | ||
===Meta Funding Exposed (December 2025)=== | ===Meta Funding Exposed (December 2025)=== | ||
In December 2025, investigative reporting revealed that [[Meta]] (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) is a significant funder of the Digital Childhood Alliance—information that Stefanski had declined to disclose during her May 2025 legislative testimony.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Lenney |first=Brian |date=December 8, 2025 |title=Meta's manipulation disguised as child safety. |url=https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/}}</ref> | In December 2025, investigative reporting revealed that [[Meta]] (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) is a significant funder of the Digital Childhood Alliance—information that Stefanski had declined to disclose during her May 2025 legislative testimony.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Lenney |first=Brian |date=December 8, 2025 |title=Meta's manipulation disguised as child safety. |url=https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260215163841/https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2025/12/07/child-safety-bill-backed-by-meta/ |archive-date=February 15, 2026 |work=Deseret News}}</ref> | ||
According to reporting, Meta also acknowledged having "collaborated with [[Digital Childhood Alliance]]."[5] Multiple sources, including Insurance Journal, documented that Meta is helping fund the organization.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Birnbaum |first=Emily |date=July 25, 2025 |title=Meta Clashes With Apple, Google Over Child Age Check Legislation. |url=https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/07/25/833246.htm}}</ref> | According to reporting, Meta also acknowledged having "collaborated with [[Digital Childhood Alliance]]."[5] Multiple sources, including Insurance Journal, documented that Meta is helping fund the organization.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Birnbaum |first=Emily |date=July 25, 2025 |title=Meta Clashes With Apple, Google Over Child Age Check Legislation. |url=https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/07/25/833246.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250925014626/https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2025/07/25/833246.htm |archive-date=September 25, 2025 |work=Insurance Journal}}</ref> | ||
===Conflict of Interest Allegations=== | ===Conflict of Interest Allegations=== | ||
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==Public Statements and Positioning== | ==Public Statements and Positioning== | ||
Stefanski has stated that parental controls and existing tools are insufficient to protect children online, arguing that technology companies currently treat 13-year-olds as adults on their platforms. She has advocated for raising the age of digital accountability to 16.<ref>{{Cite news |last= | Stefanski has stated that parental controls and existing tools are insufficient to protect children online, arguing that technology companies currently treat 13-year-olds as adults on their platforms. She has advocated for raising the age of digital accountability to 16.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sumlin |first=Hayden |date=November 10, 2025 |title=Legislator workshops legislation to keep kids safe online. |url=https://www.appenmedia.com/news/legislator-workshops-legislation-to-keep-kids-safe-online/article_553c0a56-2c27-406d-9add-37515a317321.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251203020527/https://www.appenmedia.com/news/legislator-workshops-legislation-to-keep-kids-safe-online/article_553c0a56-2c27-406d-9add-37515a317321.html |archive-date=December 3, 2025 |work=appenmedia.com}}</ref> | ||
Regarding app stores specifically, Stefanski has characterized them as "digital gatekeepers of our children's lives" that "control what gets through, but until now, they've had zero accountability."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stokel-Walker |first=Chris |date=Jan 12, 2026 |title=The Drive For Age Assurance Is Turning App Stores Into Childhood Regulators |url=https://www.techpolicy.press/the-drive-for-age-assurance-is-turning-app-stores-into-childhood-regulators/}}</ref> | Regarding app stores specifically, Stefanski has characterized them as "digital gatekeepers of our children's lives" that "control what gets through, but until now, they've had zero accountability."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stokel-Walker |first=Chris |date=Jan 12, 2026 |title=The Drive For Age Assurance Is Turning App Stores Into Childhood Regulators |url=https://www.techpolicy.press/the-drive-for-age-assurance-is-turning-app-stores-into-childhood-regulators/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260219164225/https://www.techpolicy.press/the-drive-for-age-assurance-is-turning-app-stores-into-childhood-regulators/ |archive-date=February 19, 2026 |work=www.techpolicy.press}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
[[Category:Individuals]] | |||
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