Samsung Hosts Google, Internet Matters and Dope Black Dads for Let’s Talk Online Safety Panel Event at KX

LONDON, U.K. –  March 18, 2025: Samsung welcomed parents, teachers, carers and industry guests to Samsung KX for a panel discussion: Let’s Talk Online Safety, moderated by broadcaster, author and founder of Happy Place, Fearne Cotton.

Fearne was joined by Deborah Honig, Chief Customer Officer for Samsung UK & Ireland, Vanessa Kingori OBE, Managing Director of Technology, Media, and Telecoms for Google, Rachel Huggins, Co-CEO of Internet Matters, and Marvyn Harrison, Founder of Dope Black Dads.

Each panellist shared their own experiences as parents on this important topic and provided guidance on where people can find the right resources to keep young people safe online. This is important as Samsung research shows that almost a fifth of parents don’t know how to set up parental controls and more than a third confess that their children know more about technology than they do.

The key topics for the panel were:

• How parents are navigating online safety for their children and the challenges they face
• How parents and teachers can make the right choices when it comes to keeping young people safe online
• How tech companies can best support in tackling this issue with features and education
• The critical role everyone has to play in supporting young people taking advantage of technology in a safe and responsible way

Fearne opened the panel with her own experiences, saying, “My children are nine and twelve so I’m in the thick of it. Neither have a phone and I’m trying to hold off until they’re thirteen or fourteen. But I know every parent makes different choices. My own worries won’t greatly differ from yours, what are they watching and who are they talking to online?” 

Rachel Huggins also provided her thoughts, saying, “It’s really hard being a parent at the moment and eight out of ten say they feel overwhelmed. It starts with understanding what your children are doing and what they want to do online. Then you can get to know the tools that are available to manage those experiences.”

The panel then considered how parents and teachers can make the right choices. Marvyn Harrison spoke about what he’s seeing in the community and in his own family. He said, “I try not to be a fearmonger. I want my children to be comfortable online. But I do know there can be risks. That’s why I’m trying to join them in their internet use so I can understand what they’re doing and seeing so I can make sure they’re safe.”

Fearne turned to Deborah Honig and Vanessa Kingori to talk about how tech companies can best support everyone in tackling the issue; how they’re communicating online safety to customers; and how they develop safety features with this in mind.

Deborah shared how Samsung listens to what people need and considers how they can use tools more easily. She said, “We develop with safety in mind. It’s a journey that we’ve been on for a while. It’s about showing people what tools are there and giving them the confidence and comfort to use them. We’re working hard to put out the most accessible resources to empower parents, teachers and kids to have conversations about what’s happening online and how to deal with it.”

Vanessa also gave her perspective, “At Google, we invest deeply in long-standing projects with great partners, some of whom are here today. Our aim is to empower parents to use available tools and give young people the tools to understand and have a healthy relationship with technology.”

Attendees then heard more about where information and resources are available, and how this subject is being tackled in schools. Marvyn spoke about his own platform evolving to meet the needs of parents and the significant interest he’s seen from the communities he interacts with. Rachel also gave her insight on the fragmentation of how the subject is tackled across schools and the difficulty teachers can have in staying up to date with the rapid evolution of technology. There’s an ongoing call for media literacy, including online safety, to be further embedded in the National Curriculum, which Samsung supports.

The debate ended with each panellist summarising what they hoped the audience would take away from the evening. Chief among these were hopes that parents would feel empowered by knowing the tools exist, and that parents’ behaviour with their own devices will influence children with theirs. Panellists also highlighted the importance of events such as this, where everyone works together to have open and honest conversations. They all emphasised that no-one is alone and the work will continue.

Following the discussion, the audience asked questions learning more about how to have the right conversations. They also met with Samsung product trainers, who demonstrated the online safety features available across devices.

This event recognised the importance of equipping parents and teachers with the confidence and knowledge of online safety to help children enjoy the benefits of technology safely. Samsung champions and encourages these types of conversations all year round through customer interactions, but also crucially through educational initiatives that encourage parents and carers to have early conversations with their children about the responsible use of technology.

For more useful information and online safety resources, please visit Samsung’s Online Safety site here, and Internet Matters here.

You can also watch the full panel discussion here on our YT Channel: Let’s Talk Online Safety.