The Federation Presents
Modern slavery in Tech with Mary Mazzio and guests

A look at how tech can be an enabler of modern slavery without appropriate regulation.

#Federationpresents

Keynote: Mary Mazzio

@marymazzio

On 9th April 2018 seven top officials of the global website Backpage.com long accused of facilitating child sex trafficking, were arrested after a grand jury in Phoenix issued a 93-count indictment alleging conspiracy, facilitating prostitution and money laundering. The arrests came after the US government seized all of backpage’s websites around the world.

Quoted in the Washington Post on the announcement Filmmaker Mary Mazzio commented : “I don’t think any of the children who filed suit against Backpage ever thought their fight for justice would result in a federal indictment or a legislative response. That Congress and the Department of Justice would respond with urgency to the voices of these children, as well as survivors from across the country, who lined up, shoulder to shoulder in support of these children is stunning”

Mary joins us in The Federation to talk about her documentary 'I am Jane Doe' which chronicles the legal battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their daughters, who were trafficked for commercial sex on Backpage.com. It’s a look at how tech can be an enabler of modern slavery without appropriate regulation. Mary will talk about her decision to make the film and the role it has played in generating such focus on the issue and the political and social response.

Mary is an Attorney and Award-winning filmmaker with a B.A. in philosophy and political science from Mount Holyoke College and a J.D. from Georgetown Law. She studied film production as a graduate student at Boston University. She is a former partner with the law firm of Brown Rudnick in Boston.

Following her keynote Mary will be joined on a panel with a number of industry experts including:

Chair Matt Atkinson - Chief Membership Officer at The Co-op

Matt joined the Co-op Group in January 2018 as Chief Membership Officer - CMO. Prior to joining the co-op, Matt was CMO for SAGA where he helped transform them into a digital organisation, winning new customers and entering new markets. Before SAGA Matt held senior marketing and digital roles at Tesco, P&G and a variety of global media agencies.

Paul Gerrard - Co-op Policy and Campaigns Director at The Co-op

After twenty years in the UK Civil Service, Mr Gerrard moved into the role of Policy and Campaigns Director at the Co-op. Since 2016 Paul has led on the Co-op works to tackle modern slavery in the supply chain. The Bright Future programme was recognised by the Thomson Reuters Foundation for the Stop Slavery Award in 2017 for its capacity building efforts. The programme provides a pathway back to paid employment in the UK to survivors of slavery. @paulgerrard1971

Craig Melson - Programme manager - Tech UK

Craig is Programme Manager across Digital Devices, Consumer Electronics and Environment and Compliance which covers issues as diverse as modern slavery, conflict minerals, new tech, compliance and Brexit. Craig will be sharing the findings of a rew report from TechUK which investigated curren modern slavery reporting standards in the tech sector. He will also share the recommendations for business and government for combating modern slavery and driving it out from the tech supply chain. Prior to joining TechUK he worked in public affairs, communications, TV. He has an avid interest in new and emerging technologies. Craig has a degree in Ancient History from King’s College London and spends his time watching Watford FC @craigmelson

This will be followed by Questions and Answers from the audience.

The Federation Presents is made possible through the generous funding of Omidyar Networkand Co-op Foundation and through the sponsorship of Co-op Group, BJSS, Kainos, Northcoders and Hermes/NOMA. Our official Media Partner for The Federation Presents is The Manchester Evening News.

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