Arizona opinion: Who is responsible for what AI is telling your child?

Recent jury verdicts involving social media platforms have forced a painful national awakening: What responsibility do technology companies bear when children are harmed online?

For years, parents, educators, and child advocates have sounded alarms about online exploitation, sextortion, grooming and the mental health consequences tied to digital spaces designed to keep young users constantly engaged. Now, courts are beginning to echo those concerns in ways the public can no longer ignore.

But while these verdicts may represent a turning point for the tech industry, they should also serve as a wake-up call for the rest of us.

Should online social platforms be regulated?

The conversation about online safety often becomes polarized. On one side are calls for regulation and corporate accountability. On the other are arguments about parental responsibility and digital literacy. In reality, protecting children online requires all of these approaches simultaneously.

Tech companies should be expected to strengthen safeguards for minors, respond aggressively to exploitation and harmful content, and prioritize child safety as part of platform design. When digital environments expose children to risk, accountability matters.

Lawsuits and regulations alone are not enough. Courtroom victories will not teach a 12-year-old how to spot grooming in a gaming app or help a teenager recognize emotional manipulation. Prevention cannot be optional.

Who is responsible for keeping children safe online?

Today’s children are growing up in a digital world evolving faster than many adults can keep up with. Parents often feel overwhelmed trying to monitor apps, understand online trends or recognize warning signs that a child may be in danger. Educators face similar challenges as online threats increasingly spill into classrooms, friendships and mental health struggles.

This moment demands a broader culture of accountability, not only from tech companies, but from schools, policymakers, parents, and organizations working directly with children.

Policymakers should continue strengthening protections against online exploitation, including emerging threats involving AI and sextortion schemes. Schools should treat digital safety education as essential, not extracurricular. Parents should feel empowered (not ashamed or intimidated) to talk openly with their children about what they experience online.

Most importantly, children themselves need practical tools to recognize danger and ask for help before situations escalate into tragedy.

What can parents do to keep children safe online?

At Childhelp, we see every day how education and early intervention can change outcomes. Through prevention programs focused on recognizing unsafe situations, setting boundaries and identifying trusted adults, we’ve learned that children are far more capable of protecting themselves when adults equip them with the right knowledge and support.

That preparation matters because online harm rarely begins with obvious threats. It often starts with attention, secrecy, flattery, in-game gifts, or emotional manipulation that can be difficult even for adults to recognize in real time. Teaching children how to respond before a crisis creates an essential layer of protection no lawsuit or policy change can provide on its own.

Children deserve the innovation and connection the digital world offers. But they also deserve safeguards, transparency, and adults brave enough to confront uncomfortable realities about the systems surrounding them. Accountability can’t end in the courtroom. It must live in boardrooms, classrooms, living rooms, and every space where adults make decisions that shape children’s safety.