I don’t talk about politics a lot on my blog, and I’m not going to start making a habit of it, but there is one thing that’s been heavy on my mind this week and I think it is important to talk about. 

Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.” I’m not sure how many of you reading this were able to watch any of it. I was listening to it while I worked Wednesday morning. It was a long session – I stopped listening after 3.5 hours to take a lunch break and I’m pretty sure it went on for at least another hour after that. 

It was interesting, to say the least. Big tech companies, TikTok, Snapchat, Discord, X, and Meta were there to give testimony to what they are doing to combat this issue. All of these companies are aware of the sexual exploitation crisis, and all of them are making steps of some kind to combat the issue. The Senators present asked all of them several questions, often drilling them on what they can do more to prevent these incidents. How can they be held more accountable?

I’m not going to go into the nitty gritty of the hearing, and I’m by no means an expert on this topic, but I do want to get my thoughts out there. While I listened, I couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated for both the big tech leaders and the Senators drilling them. 

I was frustrated for the big tech leaders because I truly do believe none of them created these platforms with the intentions of producing some of the evil that comes out of it. If used for the reasons they were intended, all of these platforms are great forms of entertainment and ways to stay in touch with friends and family. 

Unfortunately, there are always going to be bad people out there who will use these platforms in several different ways that will ultimately make people’s lives difficult. It will forever be an ongoing issue, and while I don’t know if there will ever be a way to 100% get rid of sexual predators on these sites, I do truly hope these big tech companies are doing everything in their power to make it harder for them to reach innocent people. It’s a hard job, and really any kind of effort they are taking should be worth noting. 

I was frustrated for the Senators as well because I know it’s their job to seek the best interest of the people – it doesn’t always feel like it, but it is ultimately supposed to be that way. I know they are frustrated as well because this is an ongoing crisis, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear cut way to put an end to it. As someone who will hopefully be bringing children of my own into the world someday soon, I would hope they are also doing everything in their power to combat an issue like this, and make sure accountability falls where most appropriate. 

And while it could still be months or maybe even years before any noticeable changes come from this hearing, there are steps you could take on your own to help keep you and your loved ones safe. 

First, don’t let children under the age of 13 use these social media platforms. It’s a standing rule for many of these platforms already, and I know it’s easy to lie about your age and get on the platform anyway, but it’s no place for a young child. They are vulnerable, don’t know any better, and in my opinion, not emotionally mature enough to be on there. Keep track of what apps your kids are using, and use parental blocks if need be. They may hate you for a hot minute, but it’s for their own safety. 

Don’t add people on any network that you don’t personally know. We’re all taught about stranger danger from a very young age, so why do we continuously add people to our social networks that we don’t know? Number of followers shouldn’t mean as much as people try to make it out to mean. I’d rather have 20 followers of all people I know personally than 500 followers of creeps who could do whatever they want with what I post. 

I’ll never forget when I worked at Lake Area Tech and was in charge of the school’s Snapchat account. I used Snapchat as a way to promote the student activities we had going on, and obviously anyone who uses Snapchat knows that you can only chat with or see another person’s information if you both mutually accept a “friend request.” 

Well I had no way of knowing if all the people following the LATC snap account were current, past, or incoming students that wanted to keep up with what was going on, and I didn’t want to prevent any of them from being in the know, so I added back most people that followed the account. 

Y’all the amount of sick images and messages I got made me want to scream. It was absolutely disgusting and it makes me sick to my stomach thinking they are also sending this crap to young kids. 

PLEASE. Do not follow anyone on any social media account that you don’t know. I’d say that’s a pretty good rule of thumb to go by. 

Don’t click on any links you don’t trust. If they look suspicious or something doesn’t feel right, don’t risk it. Ask questions or use google to verify if you’re worried something might be wrong. 

Don’t take sexually inappropriate pictures and send them to people – especially people you don’t know personally. Honestly, I don’t know why you would even want to send them to people you DO know. What if y’all have a falling out or a bad break up? They now have these photos of you and what’s stopping them from sending them to everyone they know? Seriously, there are better and safer ways to flirt or show someone you’re interested. Call me old school if ya want, I don’t care. 

There are lots of other ways you can practice safe internet usage, but these are definitely a few big ones. 

And while I do believe that these big tech companies and our elected officials have the responsibility to keep us safe, we need to take precautions to keep ourselves safe too. 

Be smart and safe. If your gut tells you something’s off, it probably is. 

I’ll get off my soap box now. I promise to be a bit more upbeat next week. 😉 

Until next time! 🙂 

Megan Reiffenberger