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By Movieguide® Staff
Online predators are more sophisticated than ever — and your child’s favorite gaming app may be their hunting ground.
“Children’s lives are hanging in the balance,” wrote Donna Rice Hughes, President and CEO of Enough Is Enough®, in a Townhall op-ed published June 20. Hughes — an internationally known internet safety expert, Emmy Award-winning producer and host of the PBS Internet Safety series — has spent three decades on the frontlines of this issue.
Her warning landed against a backdrop of genuinely alarming cases. A registered sex offender in his 40s used voice-changing technology to pass himself off as a teenage friend on Roblox before Louisiana authorities caught him communicating with a teenage girl. According to the We Protect Global Alliance, conversations with children on gaming platforms can escalate into high-risk grooming situations within 19 seconds — with the average total grooming time clocking in at just 45 minutes.
The numbers underscore how widespread the threat has become. A 2025 Thorn study found that one in four youth under 18 had received an online solicitation to exchange sexual imagery or engage in sexual activity for something of value. Fifteen percent of those young people reported actually following through with at least one such exchange.
Real-life tragedies continue. “A Maryland man coerced more than 100 children worldwide — some as young as five — to send him sexually explicit videos through Snapchat, Instagram, Skype, Discord and Roblox,” Hughes wrote. “In Southern California, 265 alleged child predators were arrested in a sting dubbed Operation Spring Cleaning and accused of using social media and online platforms to lure young victims.”
Related: Why Parents Need to Monitor Their Children on Roblox ’24/7′
Parents feel it. A 2025 C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital national survey found that three in four parents listed social media use and screen time as their top health concerns for their children, with internet safety close behind at 66 percent. Movieguide® has reported on these dangers for years, urging Christian families to treat online safety with the same seriousness they give physical safety.
Hughes is blunt about where the failure lies. She wants Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act — specifically the Senate version, which includes a Duty of Care provision — alongside The Stop CSAM Act, which would enable survivors to seek justice and strengthen law enforcement tools. She calls Big Tech “the Big Tobacco of the digital age,” companies that have deliberately put profits over safety while offering self-regulation as cover.
But parents can’t wait on Washington. Here are five things you can do right now.
- Learn the warning signs. A child who becomes secretive about online activity, switches screens when an adult walks in, withdraws from family and friends, or starts receiving unexplained gifts from people you don’t know may be in contact with a predator. Hughes lays these red flags out clearly in her op-ed — they’re worth knowing by heart.
- Talk first, filter second. Internet Safety 101 recommends having a direct, honest conversation about predators and inappropriate content before setting a single parental control. A filter without a foundation won’t hold.
- Move devices to common spaces. Screens belong in shared rooms, not behind closed bedroom doors. Late-night, private access is where grooming most often begins, and the fix is simple: charge devices in the kitchen.
- Use the free parental tools already available to you. Apple’s Screen Time and Google’s Family Link both let parents restrict apps, set daily time limits, manage contacts, and monitor location — at no cost. If you’re not using them, start today.
- Know how to report. If you suspect your child is being exploited, call 911, contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, or file a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or report.cybertip.org. Acting fast matters.
The church has always called parents to be faithful stewards of the children in their care. In this digital age, that stewardship reaches all the way to what’s on their screens — and who’s on the other end.
Read Next: Every Parent Needs to Learn These Signs of Sextortion
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