Good News from Google: Increasing Internet Safety for Kids

by Kristen A. Jenson, M.A.

In a world where 50 Shades of Grey inspires young men to act out sexual violence, let’s be grateful for the victories that increase Internet safety for kids. Parents, let's all give a shout out to Google for these historic actions:

The new YouTube Kids App

Finally Google has come out with a safe way for your kids to watch their favorite shows on YouTube. The app is for both Android and iOS mobile devices and features a timer built-in to help manage screen time. Read more here.

Google’s new policy banning porn from public Blogger accounts.

Beginning March 23rd any Blogger blogs containing pornography will be made private so only the administrators and specific people invited to the site can see it. Read more here.

Thank you, Google!

UPDATE: Sad day. Just days after announcing this new policy, Google has reversed its decision about allowing Blogger blogs to publicly share pornography. Read more here.

Google changed their advertising policy, cutting out a lot of porn ads.

Last summer Google announced that they would no longer allow porn sites to use the Google Adwords program to advertise their services online. A big step in the right direction!

And here's some more good news that Google had absolutely nothing to do with:

Ground-breaking research. We need a lot more of it, but let’s celebrate what we have:

• A Texas Tech study showed a positive ucorrelation between talking to kids about porn and less use of it as they become young adults.
• A study done by German researchers which verified that porn addicts show evidence of brain shrinkage in their pre-frontal cortex. Brain shrinkage has been documented in people with substance addictions and in pedophiles, but this was the first study to show brain shrinkage in porn addicts. Why is this important? It continues to confirm that pornography can become a real addiction. (Something that is still disputed by some academics--but not by porn addicts and the therapists who treat them. They know it's real.)

Want to help make more victories?

• Sign the petition championed by Enough is Enough to take porn out of McDonald’s and Starbucks where it can be viewed using their free WiFi.
• Check out the PornHarms Action Center for other simple actions you can take in seconds. Some actions are very positive, like thanking companies for making anti-porn policy changes. An easy way to speak up!
• Share what you know with your friends and family. Hey, share this blog post and spread the good news! That's a cool idea! (See the buttons below.)

Post a Customer Review on Amazon (and become our new BFF!)

If you purchased a copy of Good Pictures Bad Pictures (or read it anywhere), please post a customer review on Amazon! You'll be helping even more families find this valuable resource! (Seriously, those reviews make a huge difference!) Scroll down to the bottom of the first page of reviews and click on the Write a Customer Review button. As of this morning, we've got 149 reviews, who will post the 150th? Thank you!

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