While 'March Madness' is thrilling for its unpredictable upsets, intense competition, dramatic moments, and untold stories of busted brackets, the real madness is occurring off the courts. Children and teens are being groomed and exploited online in record numbers by online predators, blackmailed through sextortion schemes, and their images are being manipulated by AI technologies to create harmful and explicit content. Enough Is Enough^®!

This alarming trend is exacerbated through use of social media, gaming and messaging apps, as well as the fact that Big Tech continues to put profits over safety -- all of which make children more vulnerable to various forms of abuse and exploitation.

Isn't it Madness ...

• Among teens, 1 in 10 (10%) know someone with deepfake nude images created of them, and 1 in 17 (6%) have been direct victims. (Thorn, 2025)

• Sextortion, the fastest growing cybercrime in America, has been connected to at least 30 deaths of teen boys by suicide since 2021, many that took place within the first 24 hours of being threatened (USA Today, February 24, 2025; FBI, 2024)

• In 2023, NCMEC’s CyberTipline received 36.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation online (containing more than 105 million images, videos and other files) and saw a 300% increase in reports of online enticement between 2021 – 2023. (NCMEC Jan, 2024)

Protecting the Innocence of Children Online is a Unifying, Nonpartisan Issue with Wide Bipartisan Support at the Federal and State Levels

(Photo credit: YouTube Screenshot of the Energy & Commerce Commitee Hearing: "The World Wild Web: Examining Harms Online", 3/26/25")

This week, bipartisan legislative efforts to curb these alarming trends took place at the federal and state level:

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce’s Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday on “The World Wild Web: Examining Harms Online” to discuss the dangers of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII), Deepfakes, and the addictive nature of social media. 

The Subcommittee received testimony on the importance of passing important bills like TAKE IT DOWN, KOSA, and the SCREEN Act. Chairman Bilirakis, stated "No more excuses folks. We have to fix this. We have to hold Big Tech Accountable!” Enough Is Enough^® agrees and we encourage the House to immediately pass TAKE IT DOWN, which passed the Senate unanimously, and other important bills to ensure a safer online experience for American children and families!

North Dakota’s age verification bill (SB2380), which passed the Senate 46-1, was heard by the North Dakota House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Thank you Sen. Boehm and everyone who has worked so diligently on this bill and for allowing EIE's Director of Gov't Affairs, Dean Grigg, to offer Senate and House testimony on behalf of this critical piece of legislation! 

Age verification laws are extremely important to preventing minors from accessing hardcore pornography and other dangerous content. EIE is here to help the legislative body protect kids online! We ask the ND House to pass this import bill out of the House without delay!  

The 'madness' of online child exploitation demands a full-court press against online predators leveraging digital media to exploit our children, as well as Big Tech for placing our most vulnerable in harm's way! 

However, parents are still the first line of defense when it comes to protecting kids online. We've provided Quick Guides on key online safety topics (see below), and address the most pressing issues with up-to-date information, practical tips, and expert insights on "Internet Safety with Donna Rice Hughes." Keep up to date by watching or listening to our podcast to get educated and empowered to protect kids online!

You can support Enough Is Enough^®'s mission to protect children online. Help us "stop the madness" with your most generous gift today, allowing us to advocate for stricter regulations, enhanced reporting mechanisms, privacy protections and increased safety features to keep kids safe from exploitation in the digital world. Let's win this battle together for the sake of our children!