So, how is it that society seems less concerned with kids’ intake of unmonitored online content? Without question, it can and will be even more damaging than poor nutrition now and later in adult life.

The numbers paint a grim picture. Roughly 1 in 12 children in America are exposed to sexual abuse online. In 2020 alone, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received 21.7 million reported cases of child online sexual enticement. This is not a theoretical problem.

Every inappropriate and harmful bit of content is just a button-click away. Pornography. Violence. Self-harm. Once something remote and hard to get, this content is now widely available to children — anywhere, anytime. Here is the worst part: Even the most responsible parents may never know about the dangerous content their kids are accessing. This cannot stand.

Unlimited and unchecked online access is tearing at the very fabric of our families.

That is why the Utah Eagle Forum has fought year after year to protect the most vulnerable among us. Parents have a God-given right to protect their children and their family. We do not expect government to raise our children for us, but it is a legitimate government function to help ensure that parents have the necessary tools to do it themselves.

In this legislative session, the Utah Legislature can face this issue head-on. Utah Senate Bill 142, The App Store Accountability Act, sponsored by state Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross), would require app store providers to enact significant child protection mechanisms. It requires app stores — like those run by Apple and Google — to verify the age of the purchaser, then requires that minors under 18 secure parental consent before downloading apps. This allows parents to monitor the content their child can access on their devices.

We are very happy to note that Sen. Weiler’s SB 142 easily passed out of the Utah State Senate with a strong majority vote and now moves on to the House.

At the federal level, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced a bill of the same name to require app stores to implement parental approval safeguards for children under 16 — in all 50 states. These bills at the state and federal levels would give parents the tools to protect their children.

The public supports these reforms. Around 81% of adults in the United States already support a parental consent requirement for teens to make a social media account. More than 79% of parents support legislation that would require parental approval for teens under 16 to download apps.

The good news is that this legislation is practical and implementable. The app stores already have the technological capability to enact these changes and are the most logical point of intervention for parents. There would be no major additional costs for companies to implement these safeguards, and personal data is no more at risk than it is with normal app store use.

Other bills in Congress have directed unelected bureaucrats to decide what is best for your children, which is the wrong approach. Putting parents first and giving them modern tools to protect children is the better course.

Utah lawmakers at both state and federal levels should pass the common sense and pro-family App Store Accountability Act to give our kids a chance to have a childhood free from the harms of online exploitation. The question is: Will elected officials listen to the pleas of parents asking for help?

Opinion: Parents can’t be involved in child’s app downloads? That’s a legal stretch

Opinion: Utah’s age verification mandate could backfire on parents, free speech

Our personal liberty is the most important thing to protect, and we all need to recognize that with liberty comes responsibility. It is not the proper role of government to force private businesses to close. This will force small-business owners, the foundation of our economy, to lose their businesses, and employees to be out of work, causing lives to be ruined and families put at risk because there is no income for food, rent and the necessities of life. There are no financial reserves to carry them through this crisis. Even when the pandemic is over, large and small businesses and their employees will have to live with the reality of the financial dilemma forced on them by government, and the general conversation will be focused mostly on the economic catastrophe and its ongoing fallout.

Government does have a proper role in any situation of this nature, and that role should be to facilitate and provide every resource necessary to prevent contamination from the coronavirus, as well as developing and distributing all possible solutions and materials for those who ultimately contract the disease. Government has the responsibility to disseminate, without spin or agenda, the most current, accurate and relevant information regarding threat status and local conditions. Government has the authority to close the public schools in order to protect the children and their families. It is appropriate for government to determine and disseminate realistic guidelines for private businesses. This will help them protect themselves and the public and promote consistency and continuity. These defensive measures are appropriate for the common good.

Applying force in our current situation, individually or collectively, is not appropriate within the scope of the proper role of government, or necessary in promoting the common good. The only exception may be in a specific situation to protect individual lives in imminent danger. We have seen the result of government forcing closures in the private sector. They are devastating and economically catastrophic, both individually and collectively. Under no logical or rational definition can this be seen as working for the common good. The same result would be achieved voluntarily by virtue of realistic individual and corporate responsibility and self-interest. That is the virtue and reality of a free society and the free market. My husband Don and I have made the decision to stay in our home to protect ourselves. We are in the “high-risk” age category, and Don had major heart surgery recently. We did not need the government to force us into quarantine. We also believe most Americans will make wise choices without government coercion. We have already seen this happen as churches and private schools have made the choice to close their doors without government mandates.

Most individuals and businesses, given the truth about their situations, will do the right thing. Blame is easy but counterproductive, and at this point, irrelevant. Both the federal and state governments, if they want the public’s faith and trust, need to restore fundamental liberties to the people and private businesses.

Now is the time to stand for liberty. It is not the proper role of government to force closure of private businesses or criminalize peaceful gatherings over an arbitrary limit, or to force healthy citizens into quarantine. Urgency and panic have prompted acceptance and we cannot, must not, accept any unwarranted infringement on our liberties. 

May God bless us, and may God bless America.                                                                      

Gayle Ruzicka is the president of the Utah Eagle Forum.