The Duchess of Sussex has called on global health leaders to treat children's online safety as a public health issue, warning that young people are being shaped by systems 'designed to capture attention at any cost'. Speaking at the opening of the Lost Screen Memorial in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday, Meghan highlighted the dangers of relentless algorithms and harmful content.
Joined by World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the duchess told attendees that new technologies like AI are accelerating and amplifying past mistakes. 'Danger now travels globally – instantly, invisibly, intimately,' she said, urging that protections must do the same.
The memorial, hosted by the WHO and Archewell Philanthropies, features 50 illuminated lightboxes displaying the lockscreen images of children who died due to online harm, including cyberbullying, grooming, and sextortion. The event also involves The Parents' Network, a community of bereaved families advocating for safer online spaces.
Meghan called on platforms to be 'safe by design, not safe by chance', and urged attendees to 'demand better from the platforms shaping our children's lives'. The installation aims to highlight preventable harms and the need for stronger global protections, ahead of the 79th World Health Assembly.
