Next steps for ensuring a safe online experience for our children

Earlier this year, Mountain States Policy Center published details on the tools available for parents to keep their children safe on the internet. That study focused on the value of giving power to families to make choices that are best for them, instead of using government mandates. It discussed the expansive amount of parental controls now integrated into devices like smartphones, tablets, game consoles, and even smart speakers.

Technology today has a variety of built-in tools to help parents keep their children safe on the internet. Apple’s Screen Time and Google’s Family Link allow you to set app limits, block adult content, and control when a device can be used. Similarly, gaming consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch have controls for screen time, spending, and age-appropriate titles. Even smart devices, like Amazon Alexa or Google Nest, have filters, purchase approvals, and time limits, showing that parents already have powerful tools to wield.

While that study focused on the tools available for parents, a new report from NetChoice takes the conversation even further for lawmakers. Their “Digital Safety Shield 2025” explains how policymakers can help families without exceeding constitutional boundaries or infringing on free markets. Key components of the report include funding for law enforcement, digital literacy education in schools, helping parents access existing parental control tools, narrowly targeted regulation of harmful conduct (including misuse of generative AI), and a national data privacy standard for families.

Several online safety bills in Congress have been proposed, but some have constitutional concerns. For example, the Kids Online Safety Act proclaims to protect kids from harm, but it could create a slippery slope to unintended censorship and government gatekeeping of digital content. In an effort to regulate these standards, the Kids Online Safety Act gives state attorneys general sweeping enforcement powers, which increases the chance that political considerations will dictate which content stays on the internet.

To be able to meet those requirements, platforms could end up with intrusive age-verification systems that mandate users, when they are very young, to provide personal data just to establish their age. Trapped between vague definitions and stiff penalties, companies have cautioned on the side of over-removal to stay out of legal liability, which could stifle free expression for children and adults alike. That’s why you need an alternative that funds enforcement as well as education and privacy protections.

NetChoice encourages lawmakers to focus on providing law enforcement the resources it needs to investigate and prosecute predators. One option would be advancing the Invest in Child Safety Act, which would also establish a new office to enforce and protect against child sexual exploitation within the Department of Justice to coordinate federal efforts.

Another step could be enacting a federal privacy law, ensuring that every American, regardless of where they live has the same basic level of protection.

For example, every American has a right to know what information has been collected about them, and then be able to require companies to get consent before they sell personal data, and provide stronger protections for highly sensitive categories such as children’s data. These are sensible solutions that address root problems, and they do so while also respecting parenting choices.

Everyone can agree that parents should have the tools and resources needed to safeguard their children online. At the same time, policymakers should strengthen privacy protections, fund enforcement, and increase education on digital tools to avoid mandating policies that take choices out of families’ hands.

Digital safety is not about handing over control of our lives to the government. Instead, it is about empowering families and ensuring that the systems in which they operate function well. Parents need practical tools. Lawmakers need principled frameworks. Together, we can create an environment where children are protected, parents have the power to shape their own children's lives accordingly, and constitutional rights are preserved.