Attorney General Moody talks child safety, protection from online predators
West Palm Beach, Fla. (CBS12) — It's Safer Internet Day and Attorney General Ashley Moody is offering tips on how to keep children safe from online predators and human traffickers.
Attorney General Moody said criminals use the internet, social media apps and video games as tools to manipulate young users. She said this could lead to human trafficking, kidnapping and sextortion.
"Predators and human traffickers are online lying about their age and intentions, all in an effort to victimize children. Safer Internet Day is a good time to talk to your children about online threats and set strict parameters on the use of social media and devices connected to the internet," Moody said.
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The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children state that around 37,000 children enticement reports came into the CyberTipline in 2020, the data showed a 97.5% increase from 2019, and the U.S. Department of Justice also found that predators targeted more than 3,000 children in sextortion cases in the year of 2022.
Here some tips Moody provided:
- Make sure that children create private social media accounts
- Prevent children from using a fake date of birth to access sites that are restricted
- Make sure children are aware that profiles can be altered to appear as someone else
- Emphasize that once something is sent on the internet, it never goes away
- Ensure children know how to seek help if they are in an uncomfortable situation
The 2022 online safety tool kit can be viewed at myfloridalegal.com. For Spanish viewers it can be viewed here.
