Age Verification Laws Won’t Protect Your Kids Online (Here’s What Will)

At least 20 states are pushing bills that claim to protect your kids online. I've read them. I testified against one in South Dakota.

The problems they're trying to solve are real. The bills don't solve them.

I'm Ben Gillenwater — dad, cybersecurity expert, 30 years in the field. In this video I break down exactly what these laws would actually do, why the last major child safety law passed in 1998 made things worse, and why the most powerful protection for your kid isn't in a state capitol. It's in your house.

The two things that actually put your kid in danger online:

→ Addictive algorithms engineered like slot machines

→ Anonymous strangers who can reach your child through games, apps, and messaging

Online enticement reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children went from 186,000 in 2023 to over one million in 2025. Laws didn't stop that. And the ones being proposed won't either.

Rules expire. Skills don't. That's what this channel is about.

📱 Step-by-step iPhone safety guide: http://familyitguy.com/go/iphoneguide

🔔 Subscribe for the full series

📤 Send this to a parent who needs to hear it