Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes
Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes is a podcast designed to educate, equip and empower parents, caregivers and educators with the knowledge and resources needed to protect children in the ever-evolving digital world. Each episode is packed with valuable insights and practical tips to help you identify and prevent the many risks that kids face through the internet, social media and online gaming. Donna Rice Hughes has 30 years of leadership as a social entrepreneur, internationally known internet safety expert, author, speaker, media commentator and Emmy Award-winning producer. She is President and CEO of Enough Is Enough®, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that has led the fight to make the internet safer for children and families since 1994. Under Donna’s leadership, EIE has led advocacy efforts to pass groundbreaking bi-partisan federal laws, developed the Internet Safety 101® Program and Emmy Winning PBS series, launched the national Safe WiFi℠ Campaign resulting in McDonalds and Starbucks filtering illegal content on their public WiFi, and led the Children’s Internet Safety Presidential Pledge, Governor’s Pledge and State Attorney General Pledge. Donna has been a featured expert in most major new outlets and has given over 4,000 interviews. She testified multiple times before Congress and served on the Commission on Child Online Protection (COPA). She served as executive producer of the Emmy-award winning Internet Safety 101® PBS TV series (2013), an Emmy nomination as the program’s host, and received The Women in Technology Award for Social Impact, and The Professional Women in Advocacy Excellence in Advocacy Award for ”Veteran Practitioner”.
Episodes
In this episode of "Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes", Donna is joined by Ava Smithing, Advocacy Director at The Young People's Alliance to examine how social media algorithms expose kids and teens to harmful content. Ava reveals how algorithms on Pinterest and Instagram fueled her social media feeds—and ultimately her struggle with a devastating eating disorder.
She and Donna discuss AI chat bots and the tragic suicide of a ...
In this episode of ‘Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes’, Donna is joined by the director of Grossman on Truth, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (Ret.), to discuss the eye-opening effects of digital media on youth. The conversation highlights how video games, social media, and other digital activities are contributing to sleep deprivation, mental illness, and increased rates of suicide. Dave shares insights from his extensive ...
In this episode of "Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes"-- In this episode of Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes, Joel Thayer, President of the Digital Progress Institute joins Donna to discuss recent legislative efforts to protect children online, enforcement of anti-pornography laws and the role of tech companies in safeguarding minors. Key topics include the App Store Accountability Act (passed in Texas on 5/28/25 after ...
In this episode, Donna Rice Hughes discusses concerns parents face when deciding the right time and method to introduce smartphones to their children. She is joined by Bill Brady, CEO of Troomi, a company that creates kid-safe phones promoting digital wellness.
Bill shares his passion for helping families navigate technology safely, stemming from an early insight into the dehumanizing effects of uncontrolled tech use. The conver...
In this episode of 'Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes,' Donna is joined by special guest Kristen Jenson, founder of Defend Young Minds and bestselling author of 'Good Pictures Bad Pictures.' Kristen and Donna share valuable insights on how to protect children from online pornography and other harmful digital content. The discussion covers the importance of educating children about Internet safety, teaching them to recognize an...
In this episode of Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes, Donna welcomes Tatiana Kotlyarenko, an international expert on violence against women, girls, and human trafficking to discuss the crisis of missing and potentially trafficked children at the southern U.S. border. Tatiana highlights the vulnerabilities these children face, the roles of smugglers and traffickers, and the urgent need for effective systems to protect them. Don...
In this episode, Donna Rice Hughes discusses the issue of male victims of sex trafficking with her guest, Jerome Elam, president and CEO of the Trafficking in America Task Force. Jerome shares his hispersonal story as a survivor of child abuse, sex trafficking, and child pornography. The episode touches on several issues, including the significant role the internet plays in trafficking, the tactics traffickers use to maintain contr...
In this episode, Donna speaks with Todd Minor, the father of Matthew Minor, a 12-year-old who tragically lost his life to the TikTok Choking Challenge. Dive into the critical conversation about the hidden dangers of social media, the importance of parental involvement and the advocacy efforts to protect children online.
In this episode of Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes, Donna is joined by Fr. Bill George to discuss the alarming issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation both online and offline. Fr. George, senior advisor to the president of the Gregorian University Foundation, shares his extensive experience working with children, parents, and institutions to protect children in the digital world. They delve into topics like the dangers...
In today's episode of "Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes," Donna is joined by Harrison Haynes who shares his personal story of being groomed while playing video games online and his journey toward healing and digital intentionalism. They discuss big tech’s inability to protect children online and stress what parents need to know to protect them from harm.
In this episode of Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes, Donna speaks with Special Agent Courtney Goode about the grim reality of online crimes against children. They discuss law enforcement's role in combating sexual predators, traffickers, pornographers, and sextortionists who target children, and how to report suspicious activity.
Their conversation underscores the need for parental involvement, early prevention, and offers p...
In this episode of Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes, Donna is joined by John Pizzuro, co-founder and CEO of Raven, and former commander of the New Jersey ICAC Task Force. They discuss the legislative challenges and the role of artificial intelligence in online child exploitation, Raven’s mission to bridge gaps between legislation and law enforcement, the complexities of end-to-end encryption, and the implications of AI in gen...
Donna is joined by Lina Nealon, Vice President and Director of Corporate Advocacy for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. They discuss Big Tech’s role in facilitating sexual exploitation and break down NCOSE’s “Dirty Dozen” campaign which calls out platforms like Snapchat, Spotify and Roblox for their inadequate safety measures to protect kids and teens. They also examine key legislative efforts, highlighting bipartisan sup...
In this episode, Donna is joined by mental health expert Rens de Koning to discuss the issue of digital addiction and its impact on young minds, particularly in the context of online sexual exploitation. They explore the alarming statistics regarding children's access to pornography, the evolution of explicit content, and the role of social media in shaping mental health. Their discussion emphasizes the importance of open communica...
Donna is joined by Michael Reagan, the eldest son of former President Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman. The discussion centers around his personal experiences with childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a trusted family friend and the lasting impact it has had on him. He shares about ongoing fear and shame that accompanied the abuse due to blackmail with images. He emphasizes the importance of parents listening to their children and re...
Donna is joined by guest Gene McConnell, founder of Authentic Relationships International. They delve into the impact of early exposure to pornography on children and share personal stories. They highlight the connection between shame and broken relationships and stress the importance of open communication between parents and kids, in addition to using technology tools like filtering, monitoring, and time-limiting software to prote...
In this episode Donna and South Carolina Representative Brandon Guffey, discuss the tragic loss of his son, Gavin, who took his own life after becoming a victim of sextortion in July 2022. The discussion explores Guffey's advocacy journey, legislative efforts, and the establishment of 'Gavin's Law' which makes sextortion – the act of blackmailing someone after luring them to send sexually explicit photos of themselves via text or s...
In this week's episode, Donna is joined by tech policy expert Rick Lane and telecommunications and public policy expert Greg Rohde to discuss the state of online privacy, the intersection of privacy and child exploitation, and the need for better regulation of internet platforms. They also address practical steps parents can take to protect their children's privacy online as well as the need for open communication between parents a...
The popular social media platform TikTok is under heavy scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers over concerns ranging from child safety to national security. In this episode, Donna is joined by tech experts Geoffrey Cain and Rick Lane to discuss issues related to the app’s content and user experience, as well as its parent company’s geopolitical affiliations. They explain how the U.S. version of TikTok is vastly different than i...
In this must-listen episode, Donna and renowned online gaming expert Dr. Andrew Doan dive into the dangerous world of internet and video game addiction impacting today's youth. They reveal startling statistics behind the problem, discuss the alarming rise of internet and gaming addictions among children and teens, the neuroscience behind it, and how predators exploit online games for grooming. Parents and caregivers will gain inval...
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