Every day, millions of minors use electronic devices with access to popular apps and social media platforms that include exploitative content that is not consistent with their age rating or app description. As such, these apps and social media platforms are increasingly used for sexual harassment and sexualized bullying, including unsolicited nude images (or cyber-flashing), repeated requests for nudes, revenge (or non-consensually shared) pornography, unwanted exposure to pornography, and more. To add insult to injury, there are no systems or mechanisms in place that can hold tech companies accountable for business practices that routinely ignore and even endanger the wellbeing of minors. Additionally, smart devices themselves lack robust, user-friendly, and comprehensive parental control settings and thereby leave parents in a difficult spot when trying to protect their children when they use smart devices In light of this reality, I am writing to urge you to take action on two specific points: 1) Ask technology and app companies to establish a third-party organization comprised of child development, child protection, and Internet safety subject matter experts which will establish new criteria for what content and in-app risks result in a certain app rating; review app ratings and descriptions for the most popular apps; and be vested with the power to impose sanctions for non-compliance, similar to what the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) does for video games or the Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA) does for movies 2) Ask that Apple and Google simplify parental controls on Internet-ready devices (such as iPhones, Android devices, and Chromebooks), close circumvention loopholes, employ age-based default safety-settings, and add selective app shutoff for bedtime and school hours These are important steps toward making the digital world a safer place for children and I urge you to help address these harms quickly!

Tech companies are allowing children to be exposed to sexually exploitative content and interaction with dangerous individuals for the sake of their profit margins. Compounding the problem, there is no third-party system in place to hold tech companies accountable for their continued disregard of the safety of minors on their platforms. As a result, I am writing to urge you to take action on two specific points: 1) Ask technology and app companies to establish a third-party organization comprised of child development, child protection, and Internet safety subject matter experts which will establish new criteria for what content and in-app risks result in a certain app rating; review app ratings and descriptions for the most popular apps; and be vested with the power to impose sanctions for non-compliance, similar to what the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) does for video games or the Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA) does for movies 2) Ask that Apple and Google simplify parental controls on Internet-ready devices (such as iPhones, Android devices, and Chromebooks), close circumvention loopholes, employ age-based default safety-settings, and add selective app shutoff for bedtime and school hours These are two important steps toward making the digital world a safer place for children and I urge you to help address these harms quickly!

Internet-enabled digital devices lack the crucial settings necessary to help parents protect their children in a digital world filled with apps and social media platforms that include and feature sexually exploitative content in spaces targeted towards minors. To make matters worse, there is no third-party organization with the access or authority to hold tech companies accountable for the sexually exploitative content and interactions that occur–and are sometimes even featured–inside the platforms they make available for and promote to minors. As such, I am writing to urge you to take action on two specific points: 1) Ask technology and app companies to establish a third-party organization comprised of child development, child protection, and Internet safety subject matter experts which will establish new criteria for what content and in-app risks result in a certain app rating; review app ratings and descriptions for the most popular apps; and be vested with the power to impose sanctions for non-compliance, similar to what the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) does for video games or the Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA) does for movies 2) Ask that Apple and Google simplify parental controls on Internet-ready devices (such as iPhones, Android devices, and Chromebooks), close circumvention loopholes, employ age-based default safety-settings, and add selective app shutoff for bedtime and school hours These are two important steps toward making the digital world a safer place for children and I urge you to help address these harms quickly!

It should go without saying that protecting minors from sexual exploitation is an incredibly important work. However, in our current digital world, tech companies put minors at risk for sexual exploitation via their unregulated apps and social media platforms. Smart devices give parents very few and limited options for customizing a safer environment for their children, and there is no third-party organization with the authority to hold companies accountable for business practices that endanger minors by encouraging them to use apps and social media platforms that are inaccurately rated and which fail to disclose the types of exploitative content that minor users can be exposed to through regular use. This harmful reality needs to be altered for the safety of our children, which is why I am writing to urge you to take action on two specific points: 1) Ask technology and app companies to establish a third-party organization comprised of child development, child protection, and Internet safety subject matter experts which will establish new criteria for what content and in-app risks result in a certain app rating; review app ratings and descriptions for the most popular apps; and be vested with the power to impose sanctions for non-compliance, similar to what the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) does for video games or the Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA) does for movies 2) Ask that Apple and Google simplify parental controls on Internet-ready devices (such as iPhones, Android devices, and Chromebooks), close circumvention loopholes, employ age-based default safety-settings, and add selective app shutoff for bedtime and school hours These are important steps toward making the digital world a safer place for children and I urge you to help address these harms quickly!