As concerns mount following the exposure of sensitive user data from a women-focused tech platform in the US, ethical tech advocate and Communia Founder Olivia DeRamus is calling for an urgent rethink of how digital safety is designed, governed, and delivered.
A recent report from Communia, Women’s Online Safety in the UK, revealed that over a third (37%) of Gen Z and millennial women+ aged 16–34 feel unsafe online. Among marginalised genders, two-thirds (66%) reported often feeling unsafe, with one in five (20%) saying they feel unsafe very often.
“The problem with Tea goes beyond their security failures. You cannot build an ethical app for women using the same shock-driven playbook that prioritises engagement at all costs,” says Olivia, following the Tea app revelations. “That decision made women’s safety a target, and that’s a devastating blow.”
For Olivia, the issue goes far beyond one scandal. It points to deep-rooted flaws in how platforms are conceived, funded, and held to account. All of which she says the Tea scandal is an example of. At the heart of her work with Communia is the belief that meaningful safety cannot be retrofitted.
“Women are constantly being asked to trade privacy for protection, to trust platforms that haven’t earned that trust,” she explains. “Anything claiming safety-first tech must be built with rigour, empathy, and governance baked in from the start, not as a marketing tool or an afterthought.”
As a recognised voice on ethical technology and platform governance, Olivia has contributed widely in the press, at UK parliamentary roundtables, and regularly speaks on responsible AI, digital rights, and the need to put user wellbeing at the heart of platform design.
“If you’re promising anonymity, you should be collecting the absolute minimum data,” she adds. “And if you’re building for vulnerable communities, you need transparency, not gamification.”
With public awareness around trust, safety, and platform ethics growing, Olivia is urging regulators, investors, and users to look beyond surface promises and interrogate the real business models behind tech platforms claiming to protect consumers.
“Tea made some uniquely obvious security mistakes, but this isn’t a one-off either. It’s a pattern and a problem that isn’t going away, particularly as many companies are now outsourcing the code that keeps users safe to flawed AI tools” she says.
“Until safety is prioritised structurally, not performatively, these failures will keep happening and people will be put at risk.”
At Communia, safety isn’t an afterthought, it’s the foundation. The platform uses a series of innovative, user-first strategies to protect its community, based on the belief that open communication requires a commitment to safety.
Olivia is available for further comment and insights and can be reached via Jennifer Jones at The Lemon Loop via jjones@thelemonloop.com
For more information on Communia, the healthy social network for women please visit: https://www.ourcommunia.com