Candice Odgers and members of the newly formed California Innovation Council pose for a photo with Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Associate dean helps shape state’s tech policy on child online safety
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Candice L. Odgers, associate dean of UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology and professor of psychology, to the newly launched California Innovation Council.
Odgers will serve on the council's working group focused on protecting child online safety and countering image-based abuse.
“It is an honor to be appointed in this role and to work with the Governor and First Partner’s offices in ensuring that California’s children receive the best of what new technologies have to offer to support their learning and health, while also keeping them safe online,” Odgers said.
The California Innovation Council brings together the nation’s top tech policy experts to help California develop and strengthen its technology policy, tackling critical issues ranging from protecting children online to empowering workers and countering tech fraud.
“California is at the forefront of AI technology — and is home to some of the most successful and innovative companies and academic leaders in the world,” said Gov. Newsom. “We’re not going to sit on the sidelines and let others define the future for us. But we’re going to do it responsibly — making sure we capture the benefits, mitigate the harms, and continue to lead with the values that define this state.”
He added that California is home to 33 of the top 50 privately held AI companies globally and is uniquely positioned as the fourth-largest economy in the world to shape the responsible development of emerging technologies.
Professor Odgers joins other distinguished experts on the child safety working group, which is led by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom in partnership with the State Board of Education and the California Department of Technology.
“Our communities – especially women and kids – deserve a world that values them over the technology around them,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “Through our Technology Innovation Council, we’re gathering the best minds to drive responsible technology that simultaneously protects and promotes our communities’ well-being.”
Odgers brings extensive expertise in child development and digital technology to the council. As director of research and faculty development for the School of Social Ecology, she leads groundbreaking research on how technology impacts youth mental health and well-being.
The child online safety working group will address pressing challenges facing California’s children in the digital age, working alongside other experts including Stanford Social Media Lab’s Sunny Xun Liu, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Dr. Jenny Radesky, and leaders from organizations dedicated to youth mental health and digital safety.
The Council recently held its inaugural meeting at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, hosted by the Mozilla Foundation, where participants broke into four working groups focused on:
- Protecting Child Online Safety and Countering Image-Based Abuse
- Countering Tech Fraud
- Modernizing Government Service Delivery
- Technology, Economic Development, and Workforce
In addition to Odgers, the full council includes former U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler, Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs of the University of California Katherine Newman, representatives from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, UC Berkeley, Mozilla Foundation, the Brookings Institute, the California Chamber of Commerce, and other leading tech policy experts.
More details are available in Gov. Newsom’s press release.