Internet Safety

From Indiana to Washington, DC., news headlines this week focused on Internet safety. On Capitol Hill, executives from Meta, X, TikTok and more answered lawmakers’ questions around safety and accountability for creating a safe environment.

Back at home in Indiana, Hoosier legislators heard Senate Bill 287 which oddly enough pairs mandated “cursive” instruction with requiring the Department of Education to develop age- appropriate Internet safety curriculum, and gives schools the freedom to adopt such curriculum with a target date of July 2025.

While both legislative bodies move the sands of grain slowly, the good news is that robust Internet safety curriculum ALREADY exists and the Indiana Center for Prevention of Youth Abuse & Suicide (ICPYAS) is teaching it.

The Indiana Center for Prevention uses nationally-developed curriculum NetSmartz, a product of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to NCMEC, NetSmartz provides, “Age-appropriate videos and activities to help teach children to be safer online with the goal of helping children to become more aware of potential online risks and empowering them to help prevent victimization by making safer choices on and offline.”

This school year alone, The ICPYAS has worked with 12 Indiana schools, helping more than 4200 youth more confidently and more safely navigate the constantly changing world of the Internet. We’re ready to support more schools and youth serving organizations as they grapple with all of the opportunities and the challenges that social media and the internet bring to this generation and beyond.