John Carr

John Carr graduated in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is now one of the world’s leading authorities on children's and young people’s use of the internet and associated new technologies. He has also worked on issues of digital inclusion, particularly around older people's use of technology.

In 2022 in the UK, his book, "Escape From The Ghetto", published by Hodder, was shortlisted by the Royal Society of Literature for the Christopher Bland Prize. In the USA, it was published by Pegasus Books and received a starred review in the "Kirkus Review". "Escape" has been translated and published in Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Polish, and  Italian, with a Romanian edition scheduled for mid-2023.

John is Senior Technical Adviser (Online) to Bangkok-based global NGO ECPAT International and Secretary of the UK's Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety (CHIS). He was Chair of the Advisory Board of "EU Consent", an EU-funded project that is establishing an international framework for online age verification solutions. It will also allow sites to obtain parental consent if that is a legal or policy requirement. He led the campaign to get age verification made a legal requirement for online gambling websites operating in the UK. John is also a member of the Advisory Board of INHOPE.

In June 2012, John was appointed as a Senior Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. This was extended and renewed in 2015 and 2018. In January 2014, John was appointed to the Strategic Reference Group established by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in relation to their national inspection of how the police service manages internet-enabled child sexual exploitation cases. He was a member of the Academic Network established by the Chief Constable of Norfolk, then the national ACPO lead on child abuse investigations. He is also a member of the Europol Platform for Experts.

Pro bono he has been a Director of the charity Horsesmouth, an online mentoring social network, the Technical Advisory Committee of Breakthrough Breast Cancer , and the Advisory Board of Digital Trust. Along the way, John was also a Founding Trustee of DEMOS, one of the UK’s leading independent Think Tanks. John is a former member of Microsoft’s Policy Advisory Board for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and a former member of the Advisory Council of the Family Online Safety Institute in Washington DC, USA. He is member of the Advisory Council of Beyond Borders, Canada.