by Alison Despathy
Vermonters for a Clean Environment will host two free public events next week examining the effects of technology companies, digital surveillance and wireless infrastructure on children, families and communities.
The panel discussions, titled “Big Tech is Preying on Our Children and Communities, Let’s Put Them in Their Place,” will include presentations and opportunities for questions and answers.
The first event will take place Monday, November 16, from 6 to 7:30 PM at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier. The second is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, from 4:30 to 6 PM at the South Burlington Public Library.
Topics will include data mining, digital surveillance, children’s exposure to inappropriate online material, privacy violations, safety concerns, potential health effects, declining academic performance, and environmental pollution and radiation exposure associated with data centers and digital infrastructure.
The organization says the events will examine why communities should be concerned about these issues and what steps can be taken to establish stronger protections for children and the public.
“We have the opportunity, really the responsibility, to question this path and enact guardrails for humanity and our environment,” the organization said in its announcement.
The discussions will be moderated by Alison Despathy, community and environmental health director at Vermonters for a Clean Environment. Panelists will include Cece Doucette, executive director of Massachusetts for Safe Technology, and Laura Derrendinger, a public health nurse who advocates for independent research and informed policy and practice through the Screentime Action Network and Smartphone Free Childhood organization.
Doucette has worked with schools to raise awareness and develop protections against radiation exposure for students and staff. She said schools have begun addressing excessive screen time but should also consider other potential risks associated with wireless technology.
“It is now time to look at the other risk factors associated with wireless radio frequency microwave radiation,” Doucette said. She described the scientific evidence as showing potential neurological, cancer and reproductive health risks.
Derrendinger has worked to promote protections for children in schools, educate lawmakers and the public, and inform parents about their rights and ways to protect their children.
“Parents should not have to choose between their children’s right to privacy and safety and their right to an education,” she said.
Despathy said the growing collection and commercial use of personal information raises fundamental questions about privacy and public safety.
“Humans are not data commodities to be preyed upon and surveilled for profit extraction and nefarious uses,” she said. “Humanity should not, cannot, build systems dependent on this abusive tech and infrastructure which weaponizes data and exposes all life to harm.”
The organization also pointed to an increasing number of lawsuits involving technology companies and digital applications over privacy breaches, data collection and cybersecurity risks.
Both events are free and open to the public. Each will feature a presentation followed by questions and discussion.
Vermonters for a Clean Environment is a statewide grassroots nonprofit founded in 1999 by residents of southwestern Vermont who organized in response to an industrial development proposal. The organization now has members throughout the state. Its executive director is Annette Smith.
More information is available at vce.org.