Public Safety

The Supreme Court upheld Texas’s online age checks, opening the door to fragmented state laws. Congress should create a single national “child flag” system to protect kids and simplify compliance.

ITIF respectfully urges the FRA to approve the requested relief and to initiate broader regulatory modernization that embraces autonomous safety technologies.

Chinese platforms like Temu, SHEIN, and AliExpress continue to list unsafe products even after U.S. safety warnings, revealing serious gaps in enforcement. The Consumer Product Safety Commission needs stronger authority, better platform cooperation, and AI-driven tools to protect consumers.

Watch now for a panel discussion on children's online safety legislation and the roles that parents, corporations, and regulators must play in shaping the future of children’s digital experiences.

Given the uncertainties surrounding the emotional and social impact of AI companions—both positive and negative—policymakers should prioritize funding research on how users interact with chatbots. This approach would ensure that any interventions or improvements are grounded in scientific evidence, rather than rushed regulation.

Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced the Stop the Scroll Act, which would require warning labels on social media platforms about potential mental health risks. However, the proposal is flawed due to the lack of scientific consensus linking social media to mental health harms and the ineffectiveness of pop-up warnings, which are often ignored by users, especially children.

As AI continues to advance, the technology has created many opportunities and risks. Despite significant geopolitical differences, a series of interviews with AI experts in China and the United Kingdom reveals common AI safety priorities, shared understanding of the benefits and risks of open source AI, and agreement on the merits of closer collaboration—but also obstacles to closer partnerships.

Congress should increase funding for law enforcement training and investigations to keep children safe online.

The about-face the scientific, academic, and tech communities have made on the risks of large language models (LLMs) creating biothreats should serve as a stark reminder for policymakers about the pitfalls of premature regulation.

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary's most recent “Big Tech” hearing on online child sexual exploitation highlighted everything wrong with the current debate surrounding children’s online safety.