This Legislation Protects Big Tech, Not Children, and That’s a Problem

Published: July 5, 2026

pexels-ron-lach-9783809 — Photo from Ron Lach via Pexels

By Movieguide® Staff

The US House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act last week, but one of the nation’s leading child protection organizations is calling it a Trojan horse.

“The KIDS Act protects Big Tech, not kids,” said Haley McNamara, Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer, National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).

“The KIDS Act does not include a crucial ‘Duty of Care’ within the Kids Online Safety Act; its ‘protections’ for kids regarding AI chatbots are effectively meaningless; its COPPA 2.0 language cements digital adulthood at age 13 by codifying that teens, not parents, have authority over their personal data; and it allows tech platforms to avoid nearly any safeguarding responsibilities, especially with regard to the exchange of CSAM via messaging and sextortion,” she emphasized.

NCOSE is urging the US Senate to reject H.R. 7757 — which the House passed 267-117 on Monday — and instead pass the original Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a stronger bill that includes a “Duty of Care” standard. That standard would legally require tech platforms to design their products with child safety in mind, the same reasonable-care expectation we hold manufacturers of toys, car seats and medicines to. The House version quietly gutted it.

“The KIDS Act will empower criminals to continue to prey on children and Big Tech won’t be forced to stop this criminality,” McNamara continued. “The KIDS Act is for kids in name only.”

More than 100 child safety advocates have signed on in opposition — a number McNamara herself called “alarming and eye-opening.” The bill’s COPPA 2.0 provisions are especially troubling for parents: rather than giving moms and dads more authority over their teens’ data, it codifies that teens — not parents — control it, and locks in 13 as the age of “digital adulthood.”

The stakes could not be higher. Sextortion — in which predators coerce children into sending explicit images and then use those images as leverage — has exploded in recent years. Movieguide® has previously reported on how Meta launched new safety features to combat the crime, but voluntary platform measures are not enough. The FBI received over 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors in an 18-month stretch, representing at least 12,600 victims — predominantly boys — and at least 20 deaths by suicide. In the first half of 2025 alone, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children logged more than 23,000 sextortion reports.

The Senate now faces a choice: pass a bill with teeth, or send families home with something that sounds protective but leaves predators with the same loopholes. For Christian families who take seriously their call to guard the vulnerable, the answer seems clear. “Passing this shell of a bill is worse than inaction,” NCOSE said in a December 2025 statement. “It would strip children of protections they’ve been granted in many states.”

Until Congress acts with real accountability, parents remain the last line of defense. Here are 15 practical steps to protect your child from online sextortion:

15 Tips to Protect Your Child from Online Sextortion

Talk about sextortion directly — don’t assume your child already knows what it is or that it won’t happen to them.
Make it crystal clear: they will never be in trouble for telling you about something that happened online, no matter what.
Teach kids that predators routinely pose as peers — a “15-year-old girl” or “guy from school” may be a 40-year-old man.
Set up privacy settings on all accounts together as a family, not as a punishment.
Establish a rule that your child cannot accept follow or friend requests from anyone they don’t know in real life.

Explain that once an image is sent — even on Snapchat or in a “disappearing” message — it can be saved, screenshotted, and spread forever.
Make sure your child knows that AI can now generate explicit images of anyone without their participation, meaning they can be victimized even if they never sent a single photo.
Keep devices out of bedrooms at night. Predators operate in the dark.
Know the apps, games, and platforms your child uses — not just the names, but what they actually do.
Watch for warning signs: unusual secrecy around the phone, gifts or money from unknown sources, withdrawal, or anxiety after going online.
Teach your child that sextortion is never, ever the victim’s fault — and that the shame belongs entirely to the criminal.
Rehearse what to do: stop responding, don’t pay, don’t send more images, and come to a trusted adult immediately.
Use parental monitoring tools — not as surveillance, but as a safety net your child knows is there.
Report sextortion to the FBI (1-800-CALL-FBI) or via the NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org.
Make online safety an ongoing conversation, not a one-time lecture. The platforms change. The tactics change. Keep talking.