Homeland Security agents urge parents to lock down kids' social media in KnowToProtect livestream

Country singer and host John Rich invited Department of Homeland Security officials and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents to a livestream to explain how online predators target children and what families can do to reduce risk. The event featured an opening from Kristi Noem, identified in the livestream as Secretary of Homeland Security, and a detailed presentation from Dennis Fetting, who introduced himself as a Special Agent with HSI and a decade-long leader of child exploitation investigations.

"At the Department of Homeland Security, our mission is to protect the American people, and that includes protecting our children," Kristi Noem said, stressing a federal campaign called KnowToProtect.gov. The site and related Project iGuardian materials were presented as resources parents and communities can use to learn prevention steps and reporting options.

HSI Special Agent Dennis Fetting gave an extended walkthrough of common exploitation pathways, examples from investigations, and concrete steps families can take. "This is information that that every family needs to hear," Fetting said, and then demonstrated how predators move from games and public social posts to direct contact and extortion.

Fetting…