May 4, 2017

Presidential Pledge Sparks Momentum on the Hill
 

  EIE President & CEO Donna Rice Hughes pictured with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.)

Donna pictured with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn), and EIE Dir. of Outreach 

Marjorie MacArthur Veiga

Friends, 

Change is happening, and its staring right here in our Nation's Capitol. EIE has climbed the steps of Capitol Hill numerous times in recent weeks to make sure that our efforts to keep our children safe online is a top priority and on the forefront of the minds of our elected leaders! 

My team and I had the pleasure of sharing EIE's Children Internet Safety Presidential Pledge and our other culture changing initiatives with several elected leaders, including  Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) who represents my home state of South Carolina, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn), both pictured to the left.

A quick review of the Pledge, signed by then candidate Donald Trump in July 2016, sparked instant enthusiasm as the Pledge made rounds to other leaders on the Hill who were invited to take part in reviewing the document and our follow up proposal to the Administration. 

EIE will continue to keep up the momentum with our elected officials as we urge them to encourage the Administration to follow through on the Pledge's commitments including the enforcement of the existing federal laws including the obscenity, child pornography, sexual predation & sex trafficking laws.

We'll keep you informed as our discussions continue.  In the meantime, please consider reaching out to your own elected officials by sharing the Pledge with them and help us to protect our children online.  Click here to find out the names of your representatives.  As always, thank you for helping us to make a difference!

For the sake of the children,

     News     
  • Tennessee now joins Utah, Arkansas and South Dakota by officially declaring pornography a public health crisis or harmful to the public, and at least one other state is considering a similar measure, according to bill updates filed on state legislature websites. The Virginia General Assembly stopped short of declaring pornography a public health hazard or crisis, but passed a resolution that pornography leads to "individual and societal harms."
     
  • EIE Holds Starbucks Accountable to Provide a Safe WI-FI Experience - EIE has been in recent communication with Starbucks -- as have other partners in the technology industry -- in an effort to keep pressure on Starbucks to uphold their promise to filter child sex abuse images and pornography on its free WiFi. In July of 2016, Starbucks publicly declared to take steps to create a safe environment for its customers who use their WiFi in its 7,500 stores nationally. Learn more about EIE's Porn Free Wi-Fi Campaign here.
     
  • Parent’s, beware of Roblox. Roblox, a popular online gaming app geared toward children and teens, recently made headlines when reports surfaced that sexual predators are using the gaming platform to groom children online. Other reports suggested the app allows strangers to initiate lewd conversations via its chat feature and simulate virtual sex acts with its young players utilizing its avatars. Supervise your child’s online gaming activities, and if (or when) your child is exposed to inappropriate content, have a conversation with your child about what he or she saw and let them know it was not their fault. Learn more information about online gaming safety here.

     EIE In the News     

Press Releases

Enough Is Enough®® Applauds Congresswoman Wagner's Bill to Fight Internet-Enabled Sexual Exploitation, Crime and Trafficking (April 4, 2017)    

Interviews

Issues & Ideas with Chris DeBello Topic: Cyberbullying (April 21, 2017) Topic: Melania Trump: How Cruel Attacks Obscure Her Positive Role

The Lars Larson (April 10, 2017) Topic: Ending cyberbullying, Ivanka as a positive role model

The Rita Cosby Show (March 5, 2017) EIE's Children Internet Safety Presidential Pledge

Blogs

Introducing the Family Link app: Helping families navigate technology together

Popular Social Media Apps and How Teens & Tweens Are Using Them

Using Literature to Combat Cyberbullying

     Industry Resources     

Featured Resource

KidGuard is a technology services company that provides information and tools for parents to keep their children safe online. The KidGuard Phone Monitoring service is cellphone tracking software that allows parents to view their children's text messages, monitor GPS location, track phone logs, and view chats, thus allowing the parent to stay on top of issues such as cyberbullying, online predators, teen depression, and other risks to children using technology.

KidGuard also offers a Situation 360 report allowing a child's essential data, taken from his or her mobile device, to be provided to the police to help resolve emergencies in a timely manner.  Go to KidGuard.com to learn more!

 If you represent a technology company and would like to be connected to and featured in our work, please contact us directly!
  • Roqos Announces New VPN-  Another company new to the Internet safety scene is Roqos (pronounced roh-kohs), makers of a router for consumers and businesses. The founder and CEO met with EIE President and CEO Donna Rice Hughes earlier this year to show her their robust router which also filters and monitors Internet content. Roqos' newly announced Virtual Private Network protects one's privacy and identity by creating a secure connection from phones or laptops to the Roqos router while the Roqos customer could be anywhere in the world.  Roqos expects to announce its Kid's VPN in May with many features parents will appreciate. See roqos.com for more information.

  • Google Introduces Family Link App-  When your child is ready for their first Android device, Family Link will let you create a Google Account for them and set certain digital ground rules that work for your family – like managing the apps your kid can use, keeping an eye on screen time, and setting a bedtime on your kid’s device. To learn more, click here.

    EIE Tools & Resources     

EIE has an extensive clearinghouse of safety and victim resources, in addition to safety tools and statistics. Be sure to visit them as they are updated frequently. Categories to specific links are provided here:
 

      Research