The United Nations (UN) and the Producers Guild of America (PGA) are launching a series of virtual workshops that detail how producers and members of the creative community can collaborate with the UN on social impact entertainment projects.
In the first workshop, being hosted this Saturday (8/22), creators will learn what social impact entertainment is, the benefits of working with the UN, and the resources available to content creators. Additionally, participants will learn about how the UN works and the most pressing challenges currently on its agenda, before taking a deep dive into previous successful partnerships with the film and television industry.
Speakers for the first session include United Nations Under-Secretary-General For Global Communication Melissa Fleming; Lori McCreary, executive producer of Madam Secretary; Trey Callaway, co-executive producer and writer of Revolution, and Joanne Gunsberg, director of sustainability at SONY Pictures Entertainment. Other United Nations participants include Maher Nasser, director, Outreach Division, Department of Global Communications. The session will be moderated by Robert Rippberger, Anne Marie Gillen and William Nix.
“Collaborations, like this with the PGA, provide essential support to the work of an organization like the United Nations,” said the UN’s Fleming. “Especially at times like these, entertainment has tremendous power to shift behaviors and attitudes of mass audiences and refocus attention on what is verified and true. We would love to help more productions advance the movement to a world that is sustainable, just and equitable.”
A joint statement from Susan Sprung and Vance Van Petten, national executive directors of the PGA, read: “We are thrilled to enter into this collaboration with the UN. On behalf of our 8200+ members we’re excited to see the inspiration and works that will spring from these conversations and connections.”
The virtual series will be available to PGA members and other industry guilds and associations, with informational features made available to the general public following each live event. The PGA’s Social Impact Entertainment Task Force will serve as a vehicle to coordinate with its membership to further dialogue as well as to plan events and activities with the UN. For more info and to RSVP for the first session, click here.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More