The internet needs better rules. Areto provides them.

Across the web, hate speech, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and coordinated trolling are proliferating. They’re amplified by self-reinforcing algorithms, bots, and machine-generated narratives that deepen bias, distort truth, and erode trust.

The result is real harm — violence, division, misinformation, and reputational damage that affects individuals, communities, and brands alike. 

Areto’s three female founders standing together and smiling.

Worst of all, it’s happening at a scale and speed that overwhelms teams and outpaces regulation.

That’s where we come in.

Areto is a responsible AI platform built by founders, Lana, Kasey, and Jacqueline, with lived experience of digital harm. We’ve combined human judgment with advanced AI to filter harmful content, reduce noise, and restore space for real engagement.

Built in partnership with one of the world’s leading machine learning labs, our Areto platform is intuitive, agile, and easy to deploy across any organization. It delivers scalable protection and meaningful insights — helping global brands and public figures build healthier digital communities while protecting long-term value.

  • Areto started in coffee shops, meetings, events, and campaign offices where founders Lana and Kasey heard over and over and over again that online toxicity was getting in the way of gender equality in politics – women were stepping back and deciding not to run for office because of the online hate. 

    So after a decade in advocacy and a happenstance poster encounter at an international “AI for social good” workshop conference room, ParityBOT was born, and then deployed in Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand, with the help of founder, Jacqueline Comer.

    Lana, Kasey and Jacqueline realized what they had designed could help organizations grow inclusive new audiences, make data driven decisions and support people’s mental health. The result? Areto.

Why we do this

The online world isn’t neutral or equitable. It often reflects real-world biases and inflicts real harm at scale. We’re committed to using our experience, expertise, and technology to make online spaces more equitable and public life more accessible for all.

Areto Labs is a Canadian, women-owned technology company. Our team is located in Canada, Europe, and New Zealand, supporting a truly global, diverse roster of clients.

Founders

Lana Cuthbertson, Founder and CEO of Areto.

  • Lana sets the company’s strategic direction and drives its mission to protect people and brands from online harm. Her career spans journalism, technology, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and nonprofit leadership, giving her a cross-sector perspective on digital governance, innovation, and organizational change. Before founding Areto, Lana led strategic planning and corporate initiatives across complex organisations, including global vaccine and biomedicine launch strategy consulting and directing customer experience strategy at ATB Financial’s technology division. She is also a long-time advocate for gender equality in politics and civic life, having founded and led initiatives to advance women’s participation in public office.

Kasey Machin, Founder and COO of Areto.

  • Kasey leads business development and growth, building partnerships that tackle online safety and digital harms across multiple sectors. She has become a recognized expert in the sports industry, particularly in promoting and growing women’s sports in the face of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and speaks internationally on these issues. With a background spanning government, accessibility, and advocacy, Kasey brings a cross-sector perspective to online safety, equity, and digital innovation.

Jacqueline Comer, Founder and CPO of Areto.

  • Jacqueline leads the development of ethical AI systems designed to mitigate online harm and strengthen safer digital environments across public service, sport and media. Her work includes early applied research on detecting gendered microaggressions using natural language processing, and she continues to operate at the intersection of technology, research, and public interest outcomes, and real-life everyday solutions to online harassment and other digital harms. With professional experience spanning media, sport, financial services and advertising, Jacqueline brings a cross-sector perspective to questions of digital governance, equity and participation in public life and representative democracy.