Online dating, cyber harassment, nonconsensual deepfakes and tech within romantic relationships are expected to be on the agenda at a tech abuse conference taking place in London in May 2026.
The Tech Abuse Conference will take place on May 19-21, 2026 at City Hall on Kamal Chunchie Way, London. The event is being hosted by the Gender and Tech Research Lab at University College London (UCL).
The conference will involve talks and training sessions, with organizers saying that as well as academics, voices with lived experiences of the tech abuse issues being covered will be heard.
“Tackling technology-facilitated abuse requires a holistic approach”
-Tech Abuse Conference organizers
“Tackling technology-facilitated abuse requires a holistic approach: not just academic research from one discipline, not just legislative changes, not just technological fixes, and not just frontline support. It requires all of these together, in conversation with one another,” organizers said.
The rise of deepfake technology has recently led to new laws being passed in various countries, including the US, UK, Europe and beyond. In many of these countries, sharing non-consensual deepfake porn is now illegal. Organizers are fielding calls for participation until October 31, 2025. Online violence against women, parental control software, cyberstalking and technology-assisted coercion and control are other topics of interest.
Three keynote speakers have been confirmed for the event. One will be Nicki Dell, co-founder and co-director of the Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA) at Cornell Tech in New York. Sunny Consolvo, a researcher at Google focused on digital safety, will also give a keynote speech. The third keynote speaker will be Cecilia Maundu (below), a journalist and digital rights researcher.
Julia Slupska, a senior associate at Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulatory body, will also be speaking at the event. Slupska works with Ofcom’s Women and Girls’ Online Safety Team. Also speaking will be Emma Pickering, head of tech and economic abuse at the UK domestic abuse charity Refuge.
Tickets for the 2026 Tech Abuse Conference start at £390 ($523) and are being sold through UCL’s online store.
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