Forty-five years ago this month, Mothers Against Drunk Driving had its first national press conference, and a global movement to stop impaired driving was born. MADD was founded by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter was struck and killed by a drunk driver while walking to a church carnival in 1980. Terms like “designated driver” and the slogan “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk” came out of MADD’s campaigning, and a variety of state and federal laws, like a lowered blood alcohol limit and legal drinking age, were instituted thanks to their advocacy. Over time, social norms evolved, and driving drunk was no longer seen as a “folk crime,” but a serious, conscious choice with serious consequences.
Movements like this one, started by fed-up, grieving parents working with law enforcement and law makers, worked to lower road fatalities nationwide, inspire similar campaigns in other countries, and saved countless lives.
But today, one of the biggest dangers to children comes with almost no safeguards: the internet. Parents know the risks, yet there is no large-scale “movement” when it comes to keeping our kids safe online.
This is a big missed opportunity. The internet is not going anywhere, but in order to make it safer for children and young people, parents are key - and they need to get mad on a much larger scale.
In 2024, there were 20.5 million reports of child sexual abuse material made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, and underreporting is a serious problem. These images represent real children who have been abused, their photos and videos of the abuse shared – exponentially – on platforms that we use every day. Add to that the rising number of teens who have died by suicide after being groomed and extorted, and the number of kids who are exposed to pornographic material on sites that are supposedly “safe” for children.
AI is complicating matters further, suggesting extreme dieting to teens and offering advice on how to commit suicide. According to Common Sense Media, 3 out of 4 kids have used an AI chatbot, and many parents have no idea.
Despite widespread acknowledgement of child sexual abuse, imagery, and exploitation on all major platforms, tech companies are still not required to proactively search for, detect, or remove content unless it is reported to them. Online safeguards are, by and large, voluntary, and tech companies are still rarely held accountable for crimes committed on their sites, creating a virtual playground for predators to groom children without consequences.
Much like the lax culture around drunk driving before MADD, the dangers online are often seen as an unfortunate risk that parents are forced to accept in order to let their children and teens exist in the digital world. Instead of anger, there is a sense of overwhelm and apathy at the scale and the ubiquity of online risks. Parents are mostly forced to throw up their hands, put in place whatever precautions they can, and just go along with it. This is unacceptable.
Congress is making some progress towards passing legislation that will help hold tech companies accountable and let law enforcement better prosecute these crimes. Other countries around the world, like Australia, the U.K., and Brazil, are starting to pass online safety legislation, too. But these achievements are largely uncoordinated, and they exist on a national scale, not a global one.
Since most Big Tech companies are based in the U.S., Congress must take the lead in making companies accountable for the risks children face online. We also need a collective, organic movement led by parents and the public that will drive a global movement for sustainable, meaningful change.
It is not up to parents to solve this crisis. But parents can – and should – be angry. And we must use that anger to fuel change. We must educate ourselves about the risks and not be afraid to talk to others about the risks our kids are facing. The tech companies will not bring themselves down, so parents, teachers, and adults who care about children must continue putting pressure on Congress to act. We can end online child sexual abuse and make the internet a much safer place for everyone, but only if we come together first.
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