U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow announced a renewed international push to combat online child exploitation, aiming to bolster cooperation against predators who operate across global digital networks. The initiative brings together government officials, law enforcement, and anti-human trafficking organizations like the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Tebow issued a stark warning to parents, stating that child exploitation is not confined to distant locations or hidden corners of the internet but is "happening in their backyard." He characterized the exploitation as "one of the worst evils in the world."
The joint effort highlights the U.S. collaboration with international partners to rescue exploited children, dismantle trafficking networks, and prosecute offenders. Recent international operations, new congressional funding, and a U.S.-led United Nations resolution targeting online sextortion were noted during the announcement.
"Child exploitation criminals operate across borders, so a global response is critical," Waltz stated at the event. "We need to work together to protect our children from predators."
Tebow urged parents to remain actively involved in their children's digital lives and to utilize available online safety tools. He described how predators actively seek vulnerabilities to lure, groom, and extort young victims. "There are so many predators online that are looking for a vulnerability and an access to a boy or girl so that they can exploit, so that they can lure, so that they can groom, so that they can sextort," Tebow said.
Addressing the challenges in international cooperation, Waltz explained that many countries lack the necessary legal frameworks, extradition treaties, or investigative resources to effectively prosecute child exploitation cases, particularly those involving electronic evidence. He noted that U.S. agencies and U.N. partners are working to enhance these capabilities through training and collaborative efforts.
Waltz also drew a connection between migration and human trafficking, pointing out that vulnerable girls are frequently exploited by criminal organizations during their journeys.
Tebow further emphasized the difficulty investigators face in identifying victims due to the deliberate efforts of offenders to evade detection. He highlighted the need for specialized training and resources to identify victims, especially in underfunded and under-equipped regions. "When we also talk about this, there are so many places that are underfunded, under-equipped, and it does take some training and understanding of what is happening online so we can best use victim identification," Tebow said. "Those victim identification specialists really are specialists. They're incredible at what they're doing because those that are performing this evil, they're not trying to get caught."
The collaboration seeks to strengthen international efforts against child exploitation through enhanced cooperation, technological advancements, and coordinated investigations. 
