As governments around the world rush to strengthen online protections for children, a growing global debate is unfolding: does keeping children safe online require tracking who they are—or understanding what harms them?
From the United States and Australia to India and Europe, lawmakers are proposing new online safety regulations aimed at curbing grooming, abuse, and exposure to harmful content on social media, games, and digital platforms. While the intent is widely supported, many of the proposed solutions—especially mandatory age-verification and identity authentication—are raising serious concerns about privacy, data security, and unintended long-term risks for children.
The scale of the challenge is undeniable. UNICEF estimates that nearly one in three internet users globally is under the age of 18. In the United Kingdom, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has reported sustained growth in online grooming offences. In the United States, data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children points to millions of cyber tipline reports each year, many linked to online platforms and online games.
India reflects these same pressures. A NITI Aayog–supported report, Online Safety for Children: Protecting the Next Generation from Harm, recorded a 32% rise in cybercrimes against children between 2021 and 2022. The risks range from cyberbullying and exposure to inappropriate content to online predators and privacy violations, intensified by longer screen time and uneven parental digital literacy.
In response, regulators are acting swiftly. Proposed U.S. federal legislation could require platforms to authenticate the age of nearly all users. Australia is considering nationwide restrictions on social media use for children under 16, while U.S. states such as Texas and Utah have advanced laws that place new obligations on platforms to verify users. Yet these measures are increasingly contested.
In a statement issued from New York on December 9, UNICEF cautioned that age-based restrictions and blanket bans, though driven by genuine concern, could “even backfire” by pushing children into less regulated or hidden online spaces. The agency emphasized that effective child protection requires a broader strategy—safer platform design, strong content moderation, digital literacy, and respect for children’s rights to privacy and participation.
Technology leaders have echoed these warnings. Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly opposed sweeping age-verification mandates, arguing that they could lead to the mass collection of sensitive personal data—such as birth certificates and identity documents—from children, creating new surveillance and security risks in the name of safety.
Online gaming and virtual worlds have become a particular focus of concern. Platforms that combine chat, user-generated content, and virtual economies face heightened grooming risks, but child-safety advocates increasingly argue that identity verification alone does little to stop abusive behaviour once inside a platform.
Against this backdrop, a different approach is gaining attention—one that focuses on preventing harm rather than identifying children.
From Kollam, Kerala, child-safety technologist Stephen Antony Venansious, along with Ethical Technology Pioneer Robert McNamara from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, of Carlo PEaaS Inc, has developed a privacy-first child-safety technology known as ChildSafe.dev, powered by the RoseShield™ platform. Instead of relying on biometric verification, facial recognition, or centralized databases of children’s personal information, the system performs on-device analysis to detect grooming patterns and abusive behaviour in real time—without collecting or tracking personal identity data.
Designed as an application programming interface for game developers, app creators, ed-tech platforms, and digital service providers, the technology enables proactive protection while avoiding the creation of new data risks for children. The approach reflects a growing consensus among child-rights advocates and technologists that safety and privacy do not have to be opposing goals.
This vision moved into global rollout in December. On December 11, 2025, The Proudfoot Group, LLC, announced the launch of its Global Early Access Program for ChildSafe, opening integration of the RoseShield™ platform to selected organizations worldwide beginning December 12, 2025. Approved participants receive complimentary access to the complete platform, Founding Member recognition, priority onboarding, dedicated technical integration support, and the opportunity to help shape the platform’s strategic roadmap.
Commenting on the launch, Venansious said the initiative was inspired by the Rome Call for AI Ethics, adding that ChildSafe “makes child safety a default, embedded feature in digital platforms—delivering robust, real-time protection against online exploitation without ever compromising user privacy.” The launch marks a key step in The Proudfoot Group’s strategy to use ethical AI frameworks to set new global standards for digital safety and compliance.
In parallel with the Global Early Access Program, the platform is now accepting free beta sign-ups from game and app developers worldwide. Developers can apply to integrate and test the technology at https://childsafe.dev/tryforfree, with further information available at https://childsafe.dev/.
As regulators, parents, and platforms search for effective solutions, the central question remains unresolved: will child protection be achieved through expanded surveillance of children, or through privacy-preserving technologies that stop abuse at its source?
The emergence of ChildSafe.dev suggests a third path—one that meets the urgency of protecting children online while resisting the normalization of lifelong data collection on minors. Whether such approaches gain wider acceptance may determine whether the next generation grows up safer online, or simply more closely watched. The launch marks a critical step in TPG’s strategy to leverage its ethical AI frameworks to
set new global standards for digital safety and compliance.
ChildSafe, powered by the RoseShield™ platform, is launched by The Proudfoot Group, LLC (TPG), a technology company dedicated to building privacy-first systems that enforce ethical standards and regulatory compliance across digital environments.
TPG develops advanced platforms designed to protect users while upholding transparency, accountability, and fundamental rights. Its flagship technologies include the Carlo engine for ethical and regulatory enforcement, the RoseShield™ child safety platform, and DiscernAI, delivering scalable solutions for corporate compliance, data governance, and online safety worldwide.
Commenting on the launch, Melissa Ehlers, Chief Executive Officer of The Proudfoot Group, said:“Child protection should never come at the cost of a child’s privacy. With ChildSafe and RoseShield™, we are proving that it is possible to prevent online exploitation in real time without turning children into data. Our mission at The Proudfoot Group is to set a new global standard where ethical technology, safety, and trust are built into digital platforms from day one.”
