« Company-Specific Online Safety Initiatives

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The Internet offers an array of entertainment and educational resources for children but also presents some risks. Approximately one in seven youths (10 to 17 years) experience a sexual solicitation or approach while online.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is committed to helping all audiences—from kids to parents and guardians to law enforcement officers and educators—learn the aspects of Internet safety. You can’t watch kids every minute, but you can use strategies to help them benefit from the Internet and avoid its risks. NCMEC urges you to do one of the single most important things to promote safety—talk to kids about the rewards and risks of Internet use. We also encourage you to visit:

NetSmartz Workshop®

NetSmartz raises community awareness about the need for Internet safety education. NetSmartz is an interactive educational safety resource that teaches children and teens how to be safer when using the Internet by extending the safety awareness of children to prevent victimization and increase self-confidence whenever they go online. Parents and guardians, educators, community leaders, and law enforcement choose from a variety of resources including on- and offline activities, Internet safety pledges, and activity cards designed to supplement the NetSmartz materials. For more information visit NetSmartz.org.

CyberTipline®

The CyberTipline offers a means of reporting incidents of child sexual exploitation including the procession, manufacture, and/or distribution of child pornography; online enticement; child prostitution; child sex tourism; extra-familial child sexual molestation; unsolicited obscene material sent to a child; and misleading domain names. The goal of the CyberTipline is to empower the public to take immediate and direct action to enforce a zero policy regarding child sexual exploitation, and to assist all levels of law enforcement by providing one streamlined reporting tool that enhances information sharing and collaborative efforts to combat these crimes. To report these crimes visit, cybertipline.com or call 1-800-THE-LOST.

Online Sexual Exploitation Ad Council Campaign

NCMEC has partnered with the Department of Justice and the Ad Council to create a Public Service Advertising (PSA) campaign designed to raise awareness about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation and to help parents and teens better protect against online sexual predators. The parent-targeted PSAs address the problem in different ways to force the issue onto parents’ radar and encourage them to be as involved in their kids’ online lives as they are in their offline lives. The teen-targeted PSAs seek to prevent girls from forming inappropriate online relationships with older men in an effort to reduce their risks of sexual exploitation and abduction; and to teach them to protect themselves online by not posting images or information that might put them at risk for victimization. All of the PSAs direct viewers to cybertipline.com to get tips on how to prevent, detect and report online sexual exploitation.

Contact: 1-800-THE-LOST