Scrolling 2 Death

Apple wants parents to celebrate its latest parental control updates. But child safety advocates aren't buying the hype.In this episode, I brought in Titania Jordan of Bark Technologies and Chris McKenna of Protect Young Eyes to separate PR from reality. They discuss why Apple's changes arrived only after mounting lawsuits and legislative pressure, what the company still isn't doing to protect children, and why many of the announced features amount to little more than shifting responsibility back onto parents.If Apple truly prioritizes child safety, why can children still receive explicit content, easily workaround parental controls and use a device designed primarily for adults?Before you trust the headlines, listen to what the experts have to say.Safer options for your child: Get the Bark Phone! Monitor your child's iPhone with the Bark App.Get the Bark Watch!

Apple has built its brand on privacy, trust, and innovation. But when it comes to protecting children, has the company done enough?In this episode of The Heat Is On, hosts Nicki Petrossi and Sarah Gardner examine Apple's long and controversial history with child safety. While Apple recently announced new parental controls and family safety features at WWDC 2026, critics say the company continues to ignore one of the most urgent child protection issues on its platform: the presence of known child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in iCloud.Sarah shares her decade-long experience pushing Apple to address the problem, including behind-the-scenes conversations with the company, Apple's abandoned 2021 CSAM detection initiative, and the ongoing debate between privacy and child protection. The discussion also explores Apple's role in hosting AI nudify apps, concerns about App Store safety, and the direct-action campaigns that have brought survivors, advocates, and national media attention to Apple's doorstep.Sign the petition asking Apple to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material.The hosts break down Apple's latest child safety announcements, what they could mean for families, and why advocates say parents should wait for independent testing before assuming the new protections will work as promised.If one of the world's most powerful technology companies can't find a way to protect both privacy and children, what does that mean for the rest of the tech industry?In this episode:Apple's history of refusing to detect known CSAM in iCloudWhy child safety advocates supported Apple's abandoned 2021 detection planThe scale of online child sexual abuse material and its impact on survivorsApple's App Store, AI nudify apps, and deepfake child exploitation concernsThe direct-action campaigns pressuring Apple to changeA breakdown of Apple's newly announced parental controls and safety featuresWhat parents should know before trusting Big Tech's safety promisesThe Heat is On is a Scrolling 2 Death production in partnership with Heat Initiative.Editing provided by Jacob Meade. 

When schools hand children Chromebooks, iPads, Google accounts, and Microsoft Teams access, what’s really happening behind the screen?In this eye-opening conversation, Titania Jordan joins Nicki Petrossi to reveal alarming new data from Bark Technologies’s monitoring of school-issued technology used by millions of students across the U.S.The findings are staggering:12% of children encountered cyberbullying 3.74% encountered instances of depression7.46% encountered discussion or content related to suicidal ideation, imminent suicide or self-harm39.83% of students encountered violent content22% were exposed to drug-related content10.77% encountered sexual content11.64% encountered medically-concerning content2.69% encountered hate speech0.23% encountered body image content1.79% encountered anxiety-related contentThey discuss how students are using Google Docs like disappearing-message apps, why schools are struggling to keep up, and what parents can do right now to better protect their children.This episode is a wake-up call for parents, educators, school administrators, and policymakers about the unintended consequences of putting addictive, poorly protected technology into children’s hands.Get Bark for Schools (for free!)Get the Bark PhoneParents Templates and Resources at Tech-Safe Learning

Legendary trial attorney Mark Lanier joins Nicki and Sarah for an emotional, behind-the-scenes look at the landmark social media addiction trial that ended in a jury verdict against Meta and YouTube.For nearly two months, we sat inside the Los Angeles courtroom documenting every moment — filling 589 pages of notes as grieving parents, advocates, reporters, jurors, and teams of attorneys battled over one central question: did these platforms knowingly build products that addict children, like Kaley?In this deeply personal interview, Mark breaks down exactly how the case was won, why Snapchat and TikTok settled just before trial, and what the jury ultimately decided about Kaley, the young woman at the center of the case. He also reveals shocking moments the public never saw — defense witnesses backing out, chaos inside the courthouse, the strategy behind avoiding a billion-dollar “runaway verdict,” and the cross-examinations that changed everything.The episode also revisits some of the most unforgettable lines from the trial, responding directly to claims made in court by executives and attorneys from Meta and YouTube.But this conversation is bigger than one verdict. It’s about children, addiction, grief, corporate power, and the parents fighting back against trillion-dollar tech companies. Mark shares what he believes this case means for the future of Big Tech accountability, why he calls it a defining trial of the 21st century, and the message he hopes families around the world take away from Kaley's story.The episode closes with a powerful discussion about parenting, love, and why human connection may be the strongest defense families have against platforms designed to exploit vulnerability.If you followed this trial in real time — or if you’re just beginning to understand what these platforms are doing to children — this is an episode you won’t forget.Here's a link to the actual verdict forms that the jury completed.Video Editing expertly provided by Jacob Meade.

When parents log into Canvas, they expect homework assignments and grades — not ransom notes.In this urgent episode, I spoke with attorney Andrew Liddell about the massive alleged breach involving Instructure and its learning management platform, Canvas, reportedly affecting thousands of schools and millions of students, teachers, and college faculty worldwide.Here's a full list of the 8,000+ schools which were affected.Andy breaks down:What Canvas is and why it’s used in so many schoolsHow enormous amounts of student data are collected and sharedWhat allegedly happened in the breachWhy hackers targeted this informationWhat exposed school data could mean for families long-termWhy schools are becoming “soft targets” for cyberattacksWhat parents should do right now if their child’s school uses CanvasThe conversation also goes beyond this single breach and explores a larger question: Have schools quietly normalized mass surveillance of children through EdTech?Andy explains why privacy isn’t just about secrecy — it’s about childhood itself.“Privacy is the soil in which we grow.”This episode is essential listening for parents, teachers, school administrators, and anyone concerned about the growing role of Big Tech in education.Contact Andy's team at edtech.law to find out more about this lawsuit and others. Here's a direct link to their lawsuit against Instructure.