Lobby Virksomhed par 2
2. ConnectSafely's $100K UK Wire Goes to a Meta Safety Advisory Board Partner
In the last post I reported that ConnectSafely wires $100,000/year to an unnamed UK organization. IRS Schedule F Part II does not require naming foreign grant recipients.
Tax Year Amount Purpose
2024 $100,000 "To support an international organization with similar goals"
2023 $100,000 Same
2022 $97,500 Same
Total $297,500
The most likely recipient is Childnet International (UK Charity 1080173).
Facebook created a Safety Advisory Board in December 2009 with five founding members. ConnectSafely and Childnet were two of them. Seventeen years on the same board. Both serve as national Safer Internet Day coordinators in their respective countries. Their CEOs (Larry Magid and Will Gardner) have a direct working relationship. The 990 describes the grant purpose as supporting "an international organization with similar goals." Childnet's mission matches ConnectSafely's almost word for word.
Childnet's total income is GBP 738K. A GBP 80K grant covers about 11% of their revenue.
FOSI UK (Charity 1095268), the third Safety Advisory Board member with UK operations, is a secondary candidate. FOSI dissolved in February 2024, ruling it out for the 2024 grant but not the earlier two.
The Pershing Square Foundation gave ConnectSafely exactly $100,000 in 2023 for "General Support of Image-Based Abuse Work." $100K in from Pershing Square. $100K out to the UK.
Sources: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (ConnectSafely 990 XML, 2017-2024), UK Charity Commission Register, Companies House
3. Childnet Is Under Investigation
If ConnectSafely sends $100K/year to Childnet, what does Childnet advocate?
Childnet has never taken a public position on device-level vs. platform-level age verification. They sit on both Meta's Safety Advisory Council and the UK Council for Internet Safety, and they have said nothing on the central policy question Meta spends millions to influence.
In January 2026, Childnet signed a joint statement (42 signatories) opposing under-16 social media bans. That statement calls for "a requirement on platforms to use highly effective age assurance." Platform-level verification runs opposite to Meta's position.
The Charity Commission is currently assessing concerns about Childnet. In 2024, Childnet censored young ambassadors' critical comments about Snapchat (a Childnet funder) at Safer Internet Day. The line they cut: "Social media companies are in bed with the very same psychology used to exploit gambling victims." Baroness Spielman, Baroness Jenkin, and Neil O'Brien MP signed an open letter calling for an investigation and suspension of Safer Internet Day.
Meta is also listed as a Tier 2 supporter on Childnet's website, separate from whatever arrives through ConnectSafely.
Two funding channels from Meta to the same UK charity. Childnet's public positions do not match Meta's preferred policy. The value to Meta appears to be maintaining a seat at the UK child safety table, not directing specific advocacy.
Sources: Childnet International annual accounts (year ending March 2025), UK Charity Commission, childnet.com, joint statement on social media age bans (January 2026)
Lobby Virksomhed par 2
2. ConnectSafely's $100K UK Wire Goes to a Meta Safety Advisory Board Partner
In the last post I reported that ConnectSafely wires $100,000/year to an unnamed UK organization. IRS Schedule F Part II does not require naming foreign grant recipients.
Tax Year Amount Purpose
2024 $100,000 "To support an international organization with similar goals"
2023 $100,000 Same
2022 $97,500 Same
Total $297,500
The most likely recipient is Childnet International (UK Charity 1080173).
Facebook created a Safety Advisory Board in December 2009 with five founding members. ConnectSafely and Childnet were two of them. Seventeen years on the same board. Both serve as national Safer Internet Day coordinators in their respective countries. Their CEOs (Larry Magid and Will Gardner) have a direct working relationship. The 990 describes the grant purpose as supporting "an international organization with similar goals." Childnet's mission matches ConnectSafely's almost word for word.
Childnet's total income is GBP 738K. A GBP 80K grant covers about 11% of their revenue.
FOSI UK (Charity 1095268), the third Safety Advisory Board member with UK operations, is a secondary candidate. FOSI dissolved in February 2024, ruling it out for the 2024 grant but not the earlier two.
The Pershing Square Foundation gave ConnectSafely exactly $100,000 in 2023 for "General Support of Image-Based Abuse Work." $100K in from Pershing Square. $100K out to the UK.
Sources: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (ConnectSafely 990 XML, 2017-2024), UK Charity Commission Register, Companies House
3. Childnet Is Under Investigation
If ConnectSafely sends $100K/year to Childnet, what does Childnet advocate?
Childnet has never taken a public position on device-level vs. platform-level age verification. They sit on both Meta's Safety Advisory Council and the UK Council for Internet Safety, and they have said nothing on the central policy question Meta spends millions to influence.
In January 2026, Childnet signed a joint statement (42 signatories) opposing under-16 social media bans. That statement calls for "a requirement on platforms to use highly effective age assurance." Platform-level verification runs opposite to Meta's position.
The Charity Commission is currently assessing concerns about Childnet. In 2024, Childnet censored young ambassadors' critical comments about Snapchat (a Childnet funder) at Safer Internet Day. The line they cut: "Social media companies are in bed with the very same psychology used to exploit gambling victims." Baroness Spielman, Baroness Jenkin, and Neil O'Brien MP signed an open letter calling for an investigation and suspension of Safer Internet Day.
Meta is also listed as a Tier 2 supporter on Childnet's website, separate from whatever arrives through ConnectSafely.
Two funding channels from Meta to the same UK charity. Childnet's public positions do not match Meta's preferred policy. The value to Meta appears to be maintaining a seat at the UK child safety table, not directing specific advocacy.
Sources: Childnet International annual accounts (year ending March 2025), UK Charity Commission, childnet.com, joint statement on social media age bans (January 2026)
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