U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow on Thursday announced a renewed international push to combat online child exploitation, bringing together government officials, law enforcement leaders and anti-trafficking advocates.
The initiative highlights new funding, training programs and a U.S.-led U.N. resolution aimed at curbing online sextortion and cross-border predation, officials said. The organizers framed the effort as both a diplomatic and operational response, combining policy work with on-the-ground capacity building.
What Waltz and Tebow announced
The event formalized a partnership between the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Tim Tebow Foundation and international law enforcement partners focused on rescuing exploited children and disrupting trafficking networks.
Waltz described the initiative as a coordinated push that pairs diplomatic pressure with resources from Congress and technical support for countries that lack investigative capacity. “The United States is leading the charge to combat child exploitation in partnership with civil society groups like the Tim Tebow Foundation,” Waltz said, stressing the role of governments and nonprofits.
Organizers said the U.N. resolution will provide a framework for member states to prioritize victim identification, information-sharing and operational cooperation across borders. Officials noted that the resolution and accompanying programs are designed to be adaptable to different legal systems and resource levels.
Online child exploitation: scope and concerns
Speakers used the event to describe the range of harms that fall under online child exploitation, including grooming, sextortion, and trafficking that often begin or are facilitated online. Officials cautioned that the problem frequently crosses borders, complicating investigations and prosecutions.
Tebow warned that the threat is widespread and can touch any community. “It’s happening in their backyard,” he said, attributing the observation to his conversations with families and advocates. Organizers emphasized that many statements at the event reflected officials’ and advocates’ perspectives rather than independently verified statistics.
Experts at the event noted common vulnerabilities: weak or outdated laws, lack of extradition frameworks, and limited technical capacity to preserve and analyze electronic evidence. These gaps can let offenders evade accountability and make it harder to trace networks that operate across jurisdictions.
Tools, training and international cooperation
A central part of the announcement was strengthening partner countries’ capabilities through training, funding and coordinated operations. Organizers said congressional funding will support capacity-building, victim identification specialists, and technology to help trace offenders across networks.
Waltz highlighted the practical barriers investigators face in many countries. “There are countries all over the world where they don’t have the laws on the books that make these things a crime. They don’t have the extradition treaties. They don’t have the prosecutors or the investigators that know how to handle the electronic evidence in the right way,” he said, attributing these observations to operational experience shared with partner agencies.
Tebow underscored the need for trained victim identification specialists. “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,” he said. Organizers said training will emphasize digital forensics, trauma-informed victim care, and cross-border information-sharing protocols.
Officials stressed that the resolution and accompanying programs aim to close legal and technical gaps while coordinating with civil society groups that work directly with survivors. They characterized the initiative as combining diplomacy, operational support, and technology transfer rather than promising immediate case outcomes.
Practical advice for parents
Speakers urged parents to be proactive about online safety tools and daily engagement with their children’s digital lives. Tebow urged parents to remain engaged, saying that vigilance and conversation are central to prevention.
Recommended steps include using parental controls and privacy settings, keeping devices in shared family spaces, and maintaining open, nonjudgmental conversations about online contacts and risks. Law enforcement partners also recommended setting strong account privacy defaults, enabling two-factor authentication where available, and teaching children how to recognize grooming behaviors and report suspicious approaches.
Organizers emphasized that practical safeguards are complementary to the larger international work: while diplomacy and training aim to dismantle networks, parental vigilance and community awareness reduce opportunities for exploitation at home.
Next steps and source
Organizers said immediate priorities include rolling out training programs for victim identification specialists, directing congressional funding to on-the-ground partners, and moving the U.N. resolution into implementation with member states. Waltz called for sustained diplomatic engagement and operational cooperation: “Child exploitation criminals operate across borders, so a global response is critical. We need to work together to protect our children from predators,” he said.
The effort will involve ongoing coordination between the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Tim Tebow Foundation, law enforcement agencies, and civil society organizations. Officials said progress will be measured by training outputs, improved investigative capacity, and enhanced information-sharing among partners rather than by single headline metrics.
Source: This report is based on coverage of the announcement and quotes from Mike Waltz and Tim Tebow. Original reporting: Fox News – Mike Waltz, Tim Tebow launch effort to combat online child exploitation. The collaboration involves the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and the Tim Tebow Foundation.
