Kirra Pendergast

Kirra Pendergast is globally recognised as a leading independent advisor on online safety, social media, and digital risk. For more than three decades, she has worked at the intersection of technology, human behaviour, and safety. She advises governments, law firms, education institutions, police and the corporate sector across Australia, the United States, and the European Union on the real-world impacts of the digital age.

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An internationally in-demand public speaker, expert witness, and educator, Kirra speaks to hundreds of thousands of parents, students, educators, and professionals each year about online harms, digital culture, AI, exploitation, and safety. Her work has included supporting complex cross-jurisdictional matters involving image-based abuse, sextortion, cybercrime, and human trafficking, as well as contributing to national conversations around age verification, digital governance, and child safety online.
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She has contributed to national conversations around age-verification laws and digital governance, provided evidence at parliamentary inquiries, and supported schools and families through some of the most confronting online safety incidents imaginable. Importantly, her work is entirely independent, allowing her to speak openly and honestly about the systems, design choices, and online harms shaping childhood, education, relationships, and human wellbeing.
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Long before online safety became a global conversation, Kirra was advising government and business leaders on the risks emerging from the internet and early social media. In 2009, she founded what is widely regarded as the world’s first consulting firm dedicated solely to social media safety and digital risk management. Through Safe on Social and Ctrl+Shft, her frameworks and education programs now support more than 1,200 organisations across eight countries.
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Known for translating highly complex technology into calm, practical, and deeply human guidance, Kirra has become a trusted voice for parents and educators trying to raise and protect children in a world changing faster than most adults were ever prepared for. She lives between Italy, Australia, and the United States.