In today’s digital age, community building no longer happens solely within the walls of a church or community center. While faith institutions remain core anchors, the ways people—especially young people—grow in their faith increasingly extend into digital spaces. From daily scripture apps that prompt reflection to livestreamed church services and online forums where young Christians discuss their beliefs, the internet has become a kind of modern town square.
As pastors, we have seen this transformation firsthand. Many digital tools have strengthened our churches and communities. Parents share prayer requests through group chats. Congregants give to outreach efforts through payment apps. Teenagers access devotionals, sermons, and Bible studies that deepen their understanding of the Gospel.
But as parents, we also recognize the dangers. Certain apps and social media platforms can expose children to harmful content or predatory behavior. No parent wants their child encountering the darkest corners of the internet. That is why we understand and appreciate why Georgia lawmakers are seeking ways to make the internet safer for children. Protecting minors online is a necessary and worthy goal.
However, good intentions must be paired with thoughtful solutions. Senate Bill 467, a proposal introduced during this year’s legislative session that ultimately failed, raised serious concerns. Under SB 467, app stores would be required to verify users’ ages by collecting sensitive personal information such as government identification or biometric data. Parents would also need to give consent before minors could download apps or make in-app purchases.
While this may sound like a straightforward safeguard, the implications are significant. Systems like these require large-scale collection and storage of sensitive personal data. That information could potentially be shared with numerous apps requesting verification—including platforms that may not reasonably require such information, from simple utilities to educational or faith-based apps.
Expanding this level of data collection creates new risks for families, including data breaches, identity theft, and misuse of personal information. Protecting children should include safeguarding their privacy as well.
There is also a deeper issue that families and faith communities should consider: technological safeguards cannot replace parental responsibility. Scripture places the responsibility for raising and guiding children squarely on parents. Deuteronomy 6 instructs families to diligently teach and guide their children in every area of life. No app store, algorithm, or corporate policy can fulfill that biblical mandate.
When protection becomes primarily technological, parents may be lulled into a false sense of security. Yet most parents understand the reality: determined teenagers often find workarounds—through web browsers, friends’ devices, or platforms outside traditional app ecosystems. Healthy families cannot outsource discernment to technology companies.
Policies like SB 467 and others that threaten to follow the same model may also create barriers to positive digital spaces, discouraging young people from accessing faith-based resources or online communities that could support their growth.
Lawmakers deserve credit for taking children’s online safety seriously. But solutions should strengthen families rather than shift responsibility to corporations or compliance systems.
Because in the end, the strongest protection for children will never come from a filter or an algorithm. It will come from engaged parents, strong families, and values rooted in faith, guiding the next generation.
Pastors Irmarilis Sanchez and Josue Sanchez serve the TIR Church in Winder, GA
