Meta has collaborated with the non-profit organization Childhelp to launch an educational curriculum aimed at middle schoolers to improve online safety. The program is intended to help children spot various types of internet abuse, such as grooming and sextortion scams. The curriculum, developed in collaboration with child safety specialists and fully funded by Meta, is free for schools, parents, and groups to use.
The curriculum contains lesson plans, interactive exercises, and videos that teach youngsters how to navigate securely in online spaces. Meta has collaborated with professionals from organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Department of Homeland Security, Purdue University, and the Crimes Against Children Research Center to ensure the program's effectiveness.
Childhelp, known for its work with mistreated and neglected children, plays a key role in increasing awareness about online child exploitation. As digital collections become a growing part of children's lives, Meta wants to provide them with tools to spot possible hazards and seek help when necessary.
Meta has come under growing attention for child safety on its services, especially as lawmakers push for stricter internet protections. In recent years, the company has taken some steps to make Instagram safer for teenagers, including placing minors automatically in more private account settings and blurring nude images sent to them. Meta has also added features to combat sextortion, such as stopping users from screenshotting disappearing photos in private chats.
Meanwhile, legislative efforts such as the Kids Online Safety Act, COPPA 2.0, and the Kids Off Social Media Act are gaining traction, with several states passing their own social media safety laws. While these rules face legal challenges, they reflect a growing concern over children's digital safety.
Meta's global safety leader, Antigone Davis, emphasized the importance of educating young users: "Those protections will be even more effective if teens also feel confident in spotting potential harms and knowing where to go for help."
Meta is taking a proactive approach to provide youngsters with the knowledge required to defend themselves against internet predators by making its curriculum available for free.