Connect x Protect believes young people deserve age-appropriate online spaces where they can connect safely while protecting their privacy. This campaign amplifies the voices of parents and kids to demand policymakers find solutions that protect kids online in a way that preserves privacy and makes the internet safer for everyone.
Protect Teens. Preserve Privacy.
Parents shouldn’t have to choose between online safety and privacy.
Kids deserve both.
- We advocate for a safer internet for kids — one where young people can benefit from the connected world without sacrificing their privacy or the security of their personal data.
- We push back on flawed policies that present a false choice between safety and privacy and rely on ineffective measures like age-verification checks that expose sensitive data and ignore the risks kids encounter on web browsers, consoles, and desktops.
- We believe that we can keep kids connected and protected — we educate and empower families by translating the complicated proposals before policymakers into clear, transparent guidance and advocate for better solutions that include privacy and security at their core.
- We seek a practical path — a safer digital ecosystem with shared responsibility and smarter solutions. Through research, collaboration, and clear communication, we help families and policymakers understand what effective online safety looks like — without sacrificing kidsʼ privacy, security, or well-being.
What We're Reading
- Guest Opinion: Putting Parents Back in Control: The Sensible Path Forward for Kids’ Online SafetyThroughout my time representing Utah’s 2nd District in Congress, I consistently sounded the alarm on the devastating effects that social media has had on our nation’s youth. The data speaks for itself: the unchecked spread of addictive algorithms and predatory platforms correlates directly with skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among minors. For too long, parents have been completely outgunned by Big Tech, left to fight a multi-billion-dollar industry on their own.
- Child Safety or Surveillance State? Arizona’s HB 2991 Risks More Than It Solves After Texas RulingOn June 4, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a stay pending appeal in Students Engaged in Advancing Texas v. Paxton, the case challenging Texas’s App Store Accountability Act. This ruling means Texas’s law is now enforceable while the appeal works its way through the courts.
- NetChoice Veto Request Letter to Gov. Pritzker on Illinois HB 5511, the Children’s Social Media Safety ActNetChoice urges Governor Pritzker to veto HB 5511, a bill that undermines the First Amendment rights of Illinois users while exposing their most sensitive personal data to serious harm. This bill mandates age verification systems that restrict minors’ access to lawful speech online — the very kind of content restriction federal courts have struck down repeatedly nationwide. By requiring platforms to collect and share sensitive personal data for every user..
- Internet Age Gates Are a Growing Global ThreatThe internet is an essential resource for young people and adults to access information, explore community, and find themselves—both inside countries and across continents. Yet governments around the world continue to introduce and implement legislation requiring all online users to verify their ages before accessing the digital space. In some cases, politicians are going further, putting forth proposals to ban social media for younger users.
Updates
- When Age Verification Goes WrongHow Some Bills Could Backfire for Real Families – Everyone agrees: kids and teens deserve safer online spaces. But some age verification proposals could create new risks while promising protection.
- Virtual Panel on Digital SafetyEpisode 1 (Digital Safety): Connect x Protect executive director Terry Samuel interviews Shane Tews of the American Enterprise Institute, Ben Gillenwater, The Family IT Guy and Dr. Joseph South, an education innovation specialist at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and former director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education.
- Connect x Protect Launches Campaign to Protect Kids and Teens Online In South CarolinaCampaign comprised of public, private and nonprofit sectors will educate on importance of kids safety and security across the country
The internet is where we live much of our lives.
For kids and teens, it is how they learn and grow, communicate and build community.They deserve an internet that is as safe as it is exciting.
