Internet Safety Month

June is Internet Safety Month. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) joins our partners in raising awareness about Internet safety and providing resources to keep kids safe online.

OJJDP continues to bring a focus to the crime of sextortion. Sextortion is an online crime that exploits youth through coercion or blackmail to acquire sexual content, engage in sex, or obtain money.

New Resources for Victims

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC program) has released a law enforcement guide and a victim resource sheet for law enforcement and education professionals, child advocacy practitioners, and parents, to share with youth victims of sextortion.

OJJDP's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program

OJJDP created the ICAC program under the authority of the fiscal year (FY) 1998 Justice Appropriations Act, Public Law 105–119. The ICAC program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children. The ICAC program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces representing 5,230 federal, state, local and Tribal law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies.

Partnering with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

OJJDP, in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), provides resources, technical assistance, and prevention services to victims and families, as well as support to law enforcement agencies in cases involving missing and exploited children.

Developed with funding support from OJJDP, the NCMEC Safety Pledge website provides free resources to help parents, educators, and caregivers learn more about the risks that children face online and how to respond safely.

NCMEC Launches 'Take It Down' Tool

NCMEC has launched a free online tool to support victims of online child sexual exploitation called Take It Down. This platform helps users remove online sexually explicit photos and videos taken of them while under 18 years old. The tool generates a unique digital fingerprint—a "hash value"—that identifies copies of sexually explicit images or videos. The initiative includes a public service announcement, produced by NCMEC, that will appear on television and online platforms that youth frequently visit. Users may remain anonymous while using the service.

NCMEC's website offers additional resources about digital safety for youth, parents, communities, and educators including:

NetSmartz's "Internet Safety At Home" tip sheet.
NetSmartz's "Into the Cloud" toolkit.

Protect Our Youth Online: A Virtual Event to Start the Conversation

As part of Internet Safety Month in June 2022, OJJDP and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program presented “Protect Our Youth Online: A Virtual Event to Start the Conversation." This virtual event—comprising three webinars—featured presentations from technology safety experts with tips and resources to help inform and protect youth online.