In this episode of Doing Tech Right, Larry Magid talks with Shae Gardner, Director of Policy and Research at LGBT Tech, about the unique role technology plays for LGBTQ+ communities. They discuss online safety, youth access to social media, digital resilience, and the importance of inclusive policy as lawmakers debate new tech regulations. The conversation also explores how emerging technologies like AI and chatbots may affect young people seeking support and information online.
Larry Magid
Hi there. I am so excited to talk with my friend and colleague Shae Gardner. I’m going to let her give her own bio because when we hang out, we don’t talk about each other’s background. We just enjoy each other’s company, especially as we work together with some of our partners. She’s on a couple of boards with me, and I’ve always found her delightful. And in addition to being delightful, Shae is a policy director for LGBTQ Tech. Do I have that right?
Shae Gardner
Yes. I’m the Director of Policy and Research for LGBT Tech. I help spearhead exactly what that sounds like: many of our external messaging efforts and making sure that what we fight for as an organization is understood and respected by the people who make the decisions that impact us most.
Larry Magid
Talk to me a little bit about what LGBT Tech does, what your programs are, and where you fit into all of that.
Shae Gardner
Let me start by saying that LGBTQ+ individuals have a unique and distinct experience within the digital landscape. Our community increasingly relies on technology and digital spaces to find community, resources, healthcare, employment, and many things that can be difficult to find in the physical world.
At the same time, members of the LGBTQ+ community often face socioeconomic challenges that make finding and maintaining technology access harder than it is for others.
LGBT Tech is a nonprofit. Our executive director lovingly refers to us as a think tank with a programmatic branch.
Larry Magid
As a piece of background, and you and I have talked about this, ConnectSafely wrote the very first LGBTQ guide to cyberbullying a number of years ago. It was written by Warren Blumenfeld, who was a childhood friend of mine and has become over the past several decades a leader in LGBTQ rights.
In that guide we documented how gay people, lesbians, and trans people faced higher risks of cyberbullying, harassment, and other negative outcomes than the straight community.
That was written several years ago, and I’m curious whether things have gotten any different. I wouldn’t even say better or worse, but how things have changed and what the current state is of the risk factors a queer person online might experience.
Shae Gardner
That is an incredibly interesting question. The first thing I would say is that it’s important to acknowledge that the hate, harassment, and cyberbullying LGBTQ+ people face online is not happening in a vacuum. It reflects very real-world hate and harassment, and in some cases it can even amplify it.
Something that has always struck me in our work is that we conduct an annual poll of LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States about their digital experiences. Year after year people report that hate and harassment are serious problems online. At the same time, they say they still feel safer in those spaces than they do in physical ones.
That tells me that as people navigate a worsening political environment and uncertainty about safety, they are experiencing similar trends both online and offline. For our community, many things are getting tougher.
Larry Magid
I sense that from my friends, especially my trans friends. I have a good friend who is a very prominent journalist and a trans woman, and she has expressed strong concerns about what is happening.
ConnectSafely is a bipartisan, nonpartisan organization. We don’t get involved in political debate. But there is clearly a climate today that comes from the very top of society, and I think it’s having an impact.
Many of my friends seem more afraid now than they were even two years ago.
Shae Gardner
None of this is happening in a vacuum. Technological access and digital experiences do not exist separately from legislation or policy.
LGBT Tech is a 501(c)(3), but we do a great deal of education around federal and state legislation that could impact the community. Many of the youth safety bills we are seeing today may be well intentioned, but because they exist within a broader political and social context, some of their provisions could actually create risks for LGBTQ+ youth.
Larry Magid
This raises an issue I’ve struggled with for a long time. There is growing pressure to restrict youth access to social media. Australia has banned it for youth under 16.
I don’t think we’ll see a ban in the United States, but parental controls could become mandated. That works for many families, and some teens may even welcome that help.
But there are other young people for whom parental controls could prevent access to information that supports their health, safety, or mental well-being. I’m thinking specifically about LGBTQ youth, but also religious minorities or young people whose political views differ from their parents.
I worry about this from both a First Amendment perspective and from the standpoint of helping young people connect with supportive communities.
Shae Gardner
I think you hit the nail on the head. The majority of LGBTQ+ youth do not feel they live in affirming homes. Where are they going to explore their identity or find support? Often it’s online.
Digital spaces allow them to see people like themselves. No one knows it’s okay to be something until they see someone else being okay being that thing.
That’s the power of technology access right now, and it’s important to protect that.
At the same time, this is not about excluding parents. Two things can be true. Young people do need protection from certain things in the world, but that protection should not cross into censorship.
Historically, whether with technology or without it, attempts to completely control teenagers rarely work.
Larry Magid
It didn’t work when I was a kid, and that was long before the internet.
And it’s not just the LGBTQ community. When the disability community successfully advocated for curb ramps on sidewalks, everyone benefited. I ride a bicycle and push a stroller for my grandchildren, and those ramps help me too.
So these protections often help many people beyond the original community they were intended to support.
Shae Gardner
Exactly. And the right balance will probably look different for every family.
But if we’re putting our trust in the federal government to perfectly solve this issue, I don’t think we’ll get very far. Education and digital literacy remain some of the most practical tools we have while policymakers figure things out.
Larry Magid
You mentioned policy work. What does that involve, and how do you navigate being a nonpartisan nonprofit?
Shae Gardner
There’s a phrase I like: if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
Our approach is to ensure LGBTQ+ voices are included when technology and policy decisions are made. In many ways our community functions like a canary in the coal mine. If technology works well for LGBTQ+ users, it will likely work well for many other communities too.
Conversely, if policies harm our community, they will probably harm others as well.
Larry Magid
Let’s talk about strategies for LGBTQ people who are online and using platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, or Discord. How can they use these tools safely and productively?
Shae Gardner
I’ll give one specific example. Many social media platforms allow you to filter keywords in comments or search results. You can block certain words from appearing.
For LGBTQ users that can mean blocking slurs, harassment, or even a trans person’s deadname. These tools exist on many platforms, but people often don’t know about them.
LGBT Tech is currently working on a resource that will compile all these safety and moderation tools across major platforms into one place so users can understand their options.
Larry Magid
That’s great. We’ll definitely want to amplify that when it launches.
Let’s talk about your 2026 agenda, including AI.
Shae Gardner
We recently released our annual report called Beyond Binary: LGBTQ+ Rights in the Digital Landscape.
There are four main areas we’re watching.
First is access. With major changes to broadband funding and infrastructure programs, we’re watching how communities maintain access to devices and connectivity.
Second is the platform landscape, including legislative proposals affecting social media, youth access, ephemeral messaging, gaming platforms, and even Section 230.
Third is privacy. The U.S. still lacks a federal privacy framework. We’re pushing for stronger protections and examining issues like data brokers.
Finally there is AI, which affects everything from development to deployment. We’re looking closely at how these systems affect marginalized communities.
Larry Magid
How does AI affect the LGBTQ community differently?
Shae Gardner
It starts with how AI systems are trained. Are they built in ways that recognize that identity and sexuality can evolve over time? If they aren’t, individuals may be misclassified as anomalies.
Then there are deployment issues in areas like employment or healthcare, where LGBTQ individuals have historically faced discrimination.
And finally there’s consumer-facing AI like chatbots. We need to examine how they interact with users and whether they provide supportive and responsible responses.
Larry Magid
I’m especially interested in the emotional or romantic chatbot conversations people are having.
Shae Gardner
The emotional relationship aspect is one of the hardest areas to figure out.
Often these tools aren’t someone’s first choice. They may be someone’s only option.
When I was 15, I went online and Googled “Is it okay to be gay?” Eventually I asked strangers on a forum because I needed someone to tell me yes.
Today, a 15-year-old might ask a chatbot that same question.
Larry Magid
As you were speaking, I typed that question into ChatGPT. It responded, “Yes, it is completely okay to be gay. Being gay is a normal part of human diversity.”
Shae Gardner
That would have been reassuring to 15-year-old me.
But it also raises bigger questions about therapy, mental health access, and whether AI should fill those gaps.
Larry Magid
Exactly. Where is it written that a machine cannot provide useful psychological guidance? Humans sometimes get it wrong too.
Shae Gardner
True, but when people trust therapists it’s partly because of their training and expertise. With AI, transparency matters. Systems should disclose that they are not human and not licensed therapists.
At the same time, banning emotional uses of AI entirely may not be the right answer either.
Larry Magid
Well Shae, we’re out of time. One thing I love about this conversation is that although we started talking about LGBTQ issues, we ended up discussing issues that affect everyone.
People are diverse, but we share a lot in common.
Shae Gardner
Exactly. Nothing makes me happier than when work done for the LGBTQ community benefits others as well.
No community has ever improved its conditions without support from people outside of it. And often when you solve problems for one group, the benefits ripple outward.
Larry Magid
Shae, it’s always a pleasure talking with you.
Shae Gardner
Likewise. I always appreciate the work you do and the opportunity to be part of these conversations.
Larry Magid
Thank you so much.
Shae Gardner
Bye.
Larry Magid
Doing Tech Right is produced by Christopher Lee. Maureen Kochan is executive producer. Theme music by Will Magid. I’m Larry Magid.