Parents and policymakers are concerned about the safety and welfare of children in online spaces.
Their worries are not new, but unfortunately, the legislation we’ve seen proposed so far aren’t new ideas, either: a heavy-handed clamoring for bans, checkpoints, surveillance schemes and information control.
Luckily for Americans, we have constitutional protections, and many proposals that would undermine parental rights won’t survive legal challenges. When age verification or assurance for the internet is shown to be unconstitutional in the U.S., parents will still want solutions to digital challenges.
NetChoice agrees that we need meaningful, long-term solutions to safety and security online. Industry and policymakers must work together on these solutions to ensure that tech continues to work for us and that our constitutional rights and protections are upheld as we integrate more digital tools into our lives.
That’s why we created SHIELD: to push lawmakers and industry to adopt policies together that will produce long-term results and protect all of us online.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be detailing each component of SHIELD, and why we think it is the best framework to help keep kids safe and secure online, empower parents—not government officials—to make confident decisions for their families, educate people in digital literacy and security, and ensure constitutional rights are respected online.
Creating a SHIELD can help all Americans embrace a more positive digital experience.
Please stay tuned for our series, and learn more at netchoice.org/SHIELD.
