Social Media Safety and Parental Awareness Week in Pa.

August 22, 2025

Keeping children safe online has been a struggle for parents and communities as technology evolves.

To address this ongoing challenge, Pennsylvania legislators are recognizing “Social Media Safety and Parental Awareness Week” this week. The effort is a collaboration by Senators Scott Martin (R-Lancaster), Tracy Pennycuick (R-Montgomery), Frank Farry (R-Bucks), and Rosemary Brown (R-Monroe). They are urging schools, parents, and community leaders to join in promoting education and prevention of online dangers to children during the designated week.

“As a father of four, this issue is deeply personal,” said Martin. “No parent should feel helpless watching their child navigate the digital world. Predators are using technology to reach into our homes and harm children through manipulation and threats.”

Here are a few key takeaways:

• Breaking ground:  This initiative is the first of its kind to focus solely on social media safety and parental awareness in response to the growing threats of sextortion and AI-driven exploitation.
• Ongoing Efforts:  Martin previously authored legislation creating Pennsylvania’s Safe2Say Something school threat reporting program under Act 44 of 2018. Farry authored companion legislation when he was in the House of Representatives.
• Continuing the fight:  The resolution builds on recent legislative efforts at both the state and federal levels to better protect children from threats online. In Pennsylvania, Act 125 of 2024 criminalized the creation and distribution of an intimate or sexual deepfake of a person and classified explicit deepfakes of minors as child sexual abuse material.
• Grim statistics:  During 2024, the Cyber Tipline received 20.5 million reports of suspected child exploitation, including over 546,000 cases of online enticement and 67,000 involving AI-generated content. Reports linked to artificial intelligence rose by more than 1,300 percent. Over 100,000 cases involved fake explicit images used to extort victims.
• Quotable:  “As a mother and longtime advocate for child safety, I believe we must urgently and collectively confront the serious risks our children face online,” said Brown. “Designating a week for Social Media Safety and Parental Awareness is a critical step towards raising awareness among families, schools, and communities.”

Read about the resolution online.