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Lawmakers introduced two bipartisan bills — the Open App Markets Act, introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and the App Store Freedom Act, introduced by Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA) and Kat Cammack (R-FL) — that would push back on Big Tech’s monopoly over our app marketplace.

If passed, they could ensure that everyone can access innovative apps that put our privacy, safety, and well-being first.

Show lawmakers that we want to see the Open App Markets Act and the App Store Freedom Act passed. Sign on now.

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The FBI and a sheriff’s office in California executed multiple search warrants this week as an “at-risk” nine-year-old girl remains missing Friday.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said its investigation into the disappearance of Melodee Buzzard began on Oct. 14 after a school administrator reported her extended absence. Deputies then responded to her home in Lompoc and encountered her 35-year-old mother, Ashlee Buzzard, but “Melodee was not at the home, and no verifiable explanation for her whereabouts was provided,” according to the office.

The FBI said Melodee Buzzard may have been with her mother on a road trip “as far as the state of Nebraska” before vanishing.

“On Thursday, October 30, 2025, Sheriff’s detectives along with the FBI served follow-up search warrants at the home of Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard… as well as a storage locker and the rental car that Melodee was last seen in,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said. “In anticipation of the need for access to the residence during the search for an extended time, detectives escorted Ashlee to an alternate location that would not interfere with their ability to conduct a thorough search.”

MELODEE BUZZARD DISAPPEARANCE: NEW SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS SHOW MISSING CALIFORNIA GIRL, 9, IN POSSIBLE DISGUISE

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Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) held a press conference introducing bipartisan legislation to protect children from AI chatbots, the GUARD Act. He was joined by cosponsors of the bill, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Mark Warner (D-Vir.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) as they made the case for the GUARD Act. This legislation would ban AI companions for minors, mandate AI chatbots disclose its non-human status, and create new crimes for companies who make AI for minors that solicits or produces sexual content.

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Filtering and blocking software can shield children from obscene content, and it is worth enabling on devices that children use, but it does not work 100 percent of the time, children can disable or bypass it, and it is not present on every device they access, especially outside the home. This software can be a useful tool for parents, but they should not rely on it as the sole safeguard against their children accessing obscene content or other restricted content. In fact, parents should assume that their children will come across restricted content online even with filters in place and should take additional measures to protect their children. Parents need help shielding their children from obscene content, and they require policy solutions that go beyond filtering and blocking software alone.

Read full report here.

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Discover how childhood has changed — and what’s never changed at all.

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Learn more and reserve your spot!

From our ally, Melissa Henson – An unfortunate casualty of our increasingly fragmented media marketplace is parents’ ability to keep on top of the content their children might be consuming.

Because everything is available everywhere, all-at-once, it is not merely unrealistic to expect parents to vet every reel, short, YouTube channel, streaming series, Insta feed, and video game – it is literally impossible. Netflix alone currently has 2.2 million minutes of content available, which translates to about 36,000 hours of programming. YouTube uploads approximately 700,000 hours of videos every day.

And because it is impossible to pre-screen everything your child might potentially see across a multitude of platforms, services, and devices, we rely on parental controls, content ratings, and other tools that were supposedly instituted to help flag potentially problematic content. We learn to look for the “Y” or “Y-7” or “G” or “PG” to know whether something is suitable and age-appropriate for our children.

It is not ceding responsibility; it is accepting our limitations as finite beings with finite amounts of time.

So, when a parent sees that an animated series on Netflix is rated TV Y-7, they can hardly be blamed for assuming that the content is generally suitable for a child aged seven and above, as the rating indicates. You would think issues of sexuality or so-called gender identity would be nowhere near this rating, but you would be wrong. Here’s a dialogue from the TV-Y-7 animated Netflix program, Dead End: Paranormal Park.

“It’s not the park. It’s – it’s me. I’m trans, Norma. And everyone at school knows, and everyone at home knows. And being here? It’s like, I can just be Barney, and I can choose if and when I tell people. I’ve never been happier. And that’s saying something when I spent the day chased by terrifying Zombie mascots. Pugsy reminded me how important it is to live your life without apology. So, I think I’ve got to give living here a shot. Don’t you?”

After this clip went viral, Internet sleuths set to work digging up other examples of Netflix series pushing LGBTQ and trans ideology on children, and there were plenty to be found:

Transformers Earthspark (rated Y-7), featured this conversation:

“Hey, it’s okay. I know I’m safe when I’m with my friends or other non-binary people.” “Non-binary?” “People who aren’t female or male. Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed …” “I always knew my pronouns felt right, but … what a wonderful word for a wonderful experience.”

Nearly one year before the 2026 midterm elections, Big Tech’s influence machine shows no signs of slowing or shrinking. The industry’s largest players are growing their war chests, fine-tuning their political tools, and finding new ways to protect their industries in Washington.

According to an Issue One analysis of newly filed federal reports, seven of the largest tech, artificial intelligence (AI), and social media companies spent a combined $50 million on federal lobbying during the first nine months of 2025 — an average of nearly $400,000 for every day that Congress has been in session.

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