VICTORY: TikTok’s New Privacy and Safety Features for Children
In January 2021, TikTok announced several enhanced privacy and safety settings for minors, making it more difficult for children to be groomed, sexually exploited, or abused through this extremely popular platform. TikTok’s announcement states “As young people start their digital journey, we believe it’s important to provide them with age-appropriate privacy settings and controls.” We couldn’t agree more. Since the…
EARN IT Act Has Teeth: Only Option in Congress for Online Child Protection
There is a lot of misinformation being spread by the technology industry regarding the EARN IT Act (S. 3398 / H.R. 8454). In the face of rising levels of child sexual abuse material being distributed and consumed online, the EARN IT Act is legislation that seeks to allow U.S. citizens to hold technology companies accountable…
Dignity Defense Alert: Leadership of Protect Young Eyes Helps Parents and Children
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is proud to honor Protect Young Eyes with our August 2020 Dignity Defense Alert for their leadership in protecting children online, and especially for their initiative in shepherding the EARN IT Act through the legislative process. We applaud Protect Young Eyes for their instrumental role initiating this groundbreaking legislation…
The ABCs of Safe Online Home Learning
We get it. We’re parents too and this is not the school year beginning any of us envisioned for our children. Parents and guardians would much rather be rummaging ransacked shopping aisles for that last available three-ring binder than negotiating complex schooling decisions affecting our kids against this ever-shifting landscape. One thing is certain amidst…
The American Library Association and Its Longstanding Pornography Problem, Explained
When most of us think about our local library, we picture a safe place for students to research, senior citizens to read, and children to listen to stories read aloud by one of the librarians. It is a pleasant picture. But, as many individuals and families enjoy the benefits of their local libraries, the American…
Help Us Pass the EARN IT Act in the U.S. Senate
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the EARN IT Act Thursday, July 2, in a full committee markup of the bill. Introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators in March 2020, the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT Act, S. 3398) is designed to increase Big Tech accountability for two…
On Wayfair and Viral Conspiracy Theories About Sex Trafficking
Recently the media and social media platforms have been flooded with claims that the popular furniture company, Wayfair, is participating in or complicit with child sex trafficking. Beginning as a random musing from one individual who noted a perceived discrepancy on a web page for a specific Wayfair product, theories have since taken on a…
How Hypersexualized Children’s Dance Impacts Children
“Children deserve to learn and experience the gift of dance in safe environments that do not sexualize them. Children deserve to love dance, their bodies, and themselves. Children deserve to not be victims of sexual exploitation.” This is the mission of Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited (DA:NCE). Founded in 2016 by dance educator and author…
The EARN IT Act Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. Here Are the Next Steps.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is deeply grateful to the Senate Judiciary Committee which unanimously approved a stronger version of the EARN IT Act Thursday, July 2, in a full committee markup of the bill. Introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators in March 2020, the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive…
#PornWarning: Utah Blazes Trail with Simple, Effective Label Law
Darby Bailey was tucking her five-year-old nephew into bed in May 2020 when she noticed an iPad he had been using was still on. As she was closing apps on the device, she was shocked to find that, although her nephew could barely read, he had somehow managed to open Safari and land on Pornhub!…