Age appropriate conversations need to be taking place with children on how technology is being used to groom them. Unfortunately, many are already addicted to the dopamine fix and their relationships with a device can numb them to being preyed upon. Today’s guest is John Pizzuro. John serves as CEO of Raven, a lobbying and advocacy group that focuses on protecting children from exploitation. John was a former commander of the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children task force and has created a framework for other countries to use to investigate child exploitation.

Show Notes:

• [0:57] - John shares his background in ICAC and current role as CEO of Raven.

• [3:08] - With the changes of technology and the availability of it in every household, behavior has changed along with it.

• [5:01] - Using the internet at home makes the internet feel like a safe place.

• [6:16] - People manipulate others through language.

• [7:21] - It is simple to get hooked because of the dopamine fix met with social media.

• [8:49] - Do social media companies do enough? John says they don’t do anything and they don’t have the ability to moderate.

• [11:01] - AI is not yet fully understood. How can it be used for good or bad?

• [13:13] - There has to be a balance between privacy and protection. This is true for everything.

• [14:15] - Today, we are so polarized and the result is that a solution will not be found.

• [15:45] - Parents need to have real conversations with their children and the earlier the better. Open communication is important.

• [17:54] - It’s not talked about openly enough because it is scary to talk about child exploitation.

• [21:30] - Device addiction is a real problem and generally speaking, there’s a need for instant gratification that distracts us from real relationships.

• [23:10] - There are communities where people share techniques for grooming and they are extremely popular on the dark web.

• [24:53] - John shares some terrifying statistics.

• [26:25] - There are task forces working together to protect children from child exploitation.

• [28:30] - The task to go through digital evidence is time and resource consuming.

• [29:28] - What is needed in the US is age appropriate child protection legislation.

• [31:03] - John explains some of the challenges in current legislation.

• [32:17] - Do we hold all these tech companies liable?

• [33:40] - The larger the bill, the more things that people will have a problem with.

• [36:02] - If we can articulate things the right way, this legislation can make a huge difference.

• [38:06] - Child advocacy centers are impactful but their funding gets cut.

• [39:16] - The challenge with research is that researchers move from project to project. And action must be a result of theories.

• [40:25] - John shares ways you can impact this cause and who to talk to.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review. 

Links and Resources:

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• John Pizzuro on LinkedIn

• Raven Website