Safety, Policy, and the LGBTQ+ Community with Shae Gardner

This week Larry Magid interviews Shea Gardner, director of policy and research for LGBT Tech, about LGBTQ+ experiences online and the organization’s policy work.

Gardner shares that LGBTQ+ people rely on digital spaces for community and resources but face worse socioeconomic outcomes and persistent online hate that reflects worsening real-world hostility; annual polling shows LGBTQ+ users report severe harassment yet still often feel safer online than offline.

They discuss how youth-safety legislation, bans, and mandated parental controls can unintentionally censor or endanger youth who need online lifelines, emphasizing education and digital literacy.

Gardner describes LGBT Tech’s approach to being “at the table” in policy debates and shares practical safety tips like blocking keywords and an upcoming resource compiling moderation tools across platforms.

00:00 Welcome to Doing Tech Right

00:30 Meet Shea Gardner

01:23 What LGBT Tech Does

02:55 Online Harassment Today

04:55 Youth Safety Laws Risks

05:37 Parental Controls Tradeoffs

09:26 Policy Work and Inclusion

10:59 Staying Safe on Platforms