At IAPP Global Summit 2026, Prince Harry hails digital governance pros on their important work

Questions around how to keep privacy and online safety intact are increasingly complex with artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies stepping to the forefront. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, believes digital governance professionals can ultimately prevail in finding the answers.

During an IAPP Global Summit 2026 keynote conversation, Harry said he "had no idea there were so many people" on digital governance issues, while staring out at waves of professionals in attendance. The depth of the field gives him hope that progress can be made on mitigating growing digital harms, which he and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, formerly known as Meghan Markle, have been tackling through The Parents' Network at Archewell Philanthropies.

"I'd just like to say to everybody in this room, thank you for everything that you do. When you're taking on powerful institutions, it's like turning an oil tanker, and you just have to stick with it," Harry said during his one-on-one with IAPP Research and Insights Team Director Joe Jones. "The longer you stick with it and the more you come together to achieve that goal, the faster it will happen. By this point it has already taken far too long, but I do feel like we are on the cusp of something transformational."

The Duke's work on child online harms

Harry's own lived experiences with privacy in the royal spotlight partially contributed to the creation of the The Parents' Network pilot in 2022. The program aims to connect parents and caregivers that have shared experiences around social media harms, including trauma or suicide.

The children's advocacy began years before the network's launch though. When Harry and Meghan moved to the U.S. in 2020, he said they started to take note of how everyday life was "deeply affected" by the online landscape, particularly with mental health and well being.

"You understand very quickly the preventable suffering and how wide that goes," Harry said. "The fact that even one child is taking their own life because of the content that is being pushed to them through social media is fundamentally wrong. ... Every single parent we have spoken to, there was nothing wrong. Nothing bad. There was no issue with their child. They were not a naturally vulnerable child. It was because of the time spent on social media and the content being pushed their way."

Harry indicated the plaintiffs in recent landmark platform liability cases involving Meta and YouTube are members of The Parents' Network. He and Meghan spent time with the impacted parties before and during the proceedings. Harry expects the legal wins for the aggrieved parties will spur a flood of justice for the thousands of plaintiffs seeking similar redress for platform harms.

'Innovation is a darling word'

One of the biggest hurdles to addressing children's online harms, according to Harry, is a child's modern perception of privacy and safety. His childhood privacy experiences took place outside of the social media era, which now ties societal norms and communications to a digital footprint.

"When I see young people now ... they have a different experience of (privacy) and they also don't have an option or haven't been given an option," Harry said. "I think they care a lot about privacy. They just haven't had to worry about it before."

He added minors' decreased awareness to their privacy rights marks "another sign of success" for platforms, pointing to a "circular system" of profit based on the harm their systems cause.

Another area of friction comes with claims that changing the tides for online safety requires sacrifices on growth and innovation. The U.S. is leaning into innovation, particularly with the White House's AI Action Plan and executive order to limit state AI laws. The EU is also moving to ease aspects of its digital rulebook in the name of innovation and competition.

Harry characterized innovation as a "darling word" and "a shield," creating complexity that allows the most powerful companies and "power-hungry individuals" to avoid changes that might compromise business models.

"It really just creates this public debate. And when things are publicly debated, nothing ever actually happens," he said. "And that is a very tactical and strategic choice of the very people that we're trying to convince to change these systems."

He also argued the regulations being perceived as burdensome are ultimately a component of meaningful innovation.

"Regulation is part of innovation, but it's uncomfortable," he said. "It talks to the bottom line. It removes the level of control and influence that these companies have."

Prior to his conversation with the IAPP's Jones, Harry offered solo remarks on his connections to privacy and online safety. The video of the individual speech can be viewed here.