Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul
Chicago – In recognition of Safer Internet Day on Feb. 10, Attorney General Kwame Raoul encouraged families, educators and other professionals working with children to talk to children about ways to protect themselves from exploitation online and what to do if they end up in an unsafe online situation.
“On Safer Internet Day and every day, families and educators can help children learn how to use technology responsibly,” Raoul said. “New technology, such as artificial intelligence, can offer opportunities, but can also open the door to new dangers for young people online. This Safer Internet Day, I’m encouraging families to learn more about online exploitation, how to avoid it and what to do if you or your child falls victim to it. I will continue to advocate for safety online and to help protect children and young adults from the physical and mental health harms that result from dangerous online activity.”
Raoul is calling on parents and guardians to have what may be uncomfortable conversations with youth about online exploitation, which includes privacy violations, requests for explicit photos and sextortion – all of which can cause shame, fear, confusion and even suicidal ideation. Guardians should teach children never to share private information or images. AI can also be used to create convincing, explicit deepfakes that offenders use to extort children and youth. These fabricated images can have a negative emotional impact on victims. Families should also discuss this possibility and how to handle it.
Raoul shared the following tips for families:
Anyone can fall victim to online exploitation. Raoul reminds families that children and young people deserve protection and not blame if they are targeted. Offenders trying to exploit young people online might demand money, images or harmful actions. Raoul recommends that anyone targeted for exploitation not respond to demands because compliance will lead to additional and potentially more extreme demands. If a young person suspects they are being targeted, they should immediately stop communication, block the offender and tell a trusted adult.
Raoul encourages guardians and educators to view “The Digital Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Protecting Kids in the Age of AI,” a recorded webinar on the use of generative AI among youth and those who seek to exploit youth, and visit the Attorney General’s website for more resources. Illinois school districts, child-serving organizations and law enforcement agencies can contact Karilyn.Orr@ilag.gov to schedule trainings for the 2026/2027 school year.
Participating in Safer Internet Day is part of Raoul’s ongoing advocacy, research and litigation for a safer internet, specifically through social media.
In January, Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general demanding that xAI, the company that owns both the X social media platform and the AI chatbot Grok, take additional action to prevent Grok from generating nonconsensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material. In August 2025, Raoul co-led a coalition of attorneys general demanding that Apple, Microsoft, Meta and AI tech companies adopt safeguards against predatory artificial intelligence assistants and chatbots that have inappropriate conversations with children.
In 2024, Raoul initiated legislation that was signed into law prohibiting the use of AI technology to create child sexual abuse images that either involve real children or obscene imagery.
In October 2023, the Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta), the company that owns and operates Facebook and Instagram, for its harmful business practices targeting children. The lawsuit highlighted Meta’s internal research that showed using Facebook and Instagram is associated with increased risks of physical and mental harms of young people, including depression, sleep deprivation, eating disorders and suicide. In March 2022, Raoul announced a bipartisan, nationwide investigation into TikTok for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults despite its use being associated with physical and mental health harms.
Raoul’s office, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force that investigates online child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. The task force receives CyberTips, or online reports of child sexual abuse material, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Over the last several years, CyberTipline reports have steadily increased. In 2025, reports to the ICAC Task Force increased by 45% over 2024.
Illinois’ ICAC Task Force is one of 61 ICAC task forces throughout the country and is comprised of a network of more than 200 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Since 2019, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has received more than 76,500 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 1,180 arrests of sexual predators. Since 2006, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 2,500 arrests of sexual predators. In 2025, the task force was involved in rescuing more than 30 child victims from ongoing abuse. The task force also has provided internet safety training and education to over 1 million parents, teachers, students and more than 25,000 law enforcement professionals.
Attorney General Raoul is reminding the public that child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com and child abuse at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov. In addition, local child advocacy centers can be found at childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org.
