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In order to learn, kids must feel safe. I know this as an educator and a parent. Today, kids don't feel safe. Setting aside the age-old problems caused by classroom bullies and older siblings, kids are facing challenges never seen before. Screens are everywhere, tempting children with everything from the trivial to the dangerous. Via social media, kids are encountering new pressures and dangers - and, as numerous court cases and filings are revealing, addictive features that can cause lasting harms. At a minimum, kids need to be able to trust the online offerings provided by their public schools at taxpayer expense. Sadly, this is not the case.
Our public schools and libraries serve as pillars of learning in our communities, spaces where young minds can discover, grow, and prepare for success. In an era of expanding digital resources, these institutions depend on commercial vendors to supply online databases and tools that enrich curricula and research opportunities. The two major databases used in Ohio are: Cengage Gale's research databases and EBSCO’s Explora. These are utilized across primary, middle, and high schools and used as public library homework tools. In Ohio, these databases are branded as InfoOhio, OWL, and other resources.
These databases are intended to offer straightforward access to articles, e-books, and primary sources. The state is paying for these databases as an alternative to a google search, so that all students in Ohio (public, private and homeschool) can do research in a safe manner, free from harmful, age-inappropriate content.
No doubt, our schools and libraries select educational resources thoughtfully, aiming to provide reliable, age-appropriate content amid tight budgets and heavy demands on their time. This is what I was told when I met with a representative from InfoOhio. Except problems with EBSCO have recurred, coming to light in 2017, 2022, and again in 2026.
Imagine the following verified examples kids in Ohio schools are being subjected to. A high school student conducts a search for "free videos" within the "Gale in Context" database. This is an "age-appropriate" database paid for by taxpayers; it is marketed as "more reliable than a Google search." What this student encounters is an advertorial cleverly disguised as a news article but containing a live link to free adult videos on Pornhub. Another advertorial click-bait article for the "iPorn" app recruits models and promotes "lucrative compensation." The Gale databases also curate click-bait advertorials for adult dating venues and "sugar daddy dating." The "sugar daddy dating" articles and links claim that "dates" might shower kids with gifts, cash, all-expense paid travel, and a relationship with prominent individuals. In other words, these "articles" are basically promoting child prostitution.
In addition to encouraging human trafficking, other websites in EBSCO's INFOhio are pushing online gambling. Advertisements disguised as informational articles encourage students to place bets on preferred players and teams. One such article asks: "Instead of spending it on ice cream, why not try to spend it on something that can bring some money in?" Even within the middle school Gale in Context database, a search for "online betting" yielded a live link to Peaky Online Casino. Once on the website, viewers have access to 29,000+ free online casino games.
These corporate database vendors, which are enabling their publishing and advertising partners to insert ads and other harmful content into library and school resources, are profiting at the expense of kids. These are billion-dollar companies taking advantage of Ohio taxpayers and families.
Accidental, unsolicited exposure has been listed as a major contributing factor to the rise of cannabis use, gambling, and pornography addiction among teens. In fact, these kids are exposed to more unwanted ads than any other age group. Most pornographic exposure has occurred by 12 years of age, and 60% of exposure is unsolicited, even occurring on school devices.
So, how do we protect kids from harmful content while providing safe resources for students in Ohio?
I introduced a bill, HB 583, to help. Applicable to online databases only, this bill incentivizes these corporate vendors to provide an age-appropriate database, free from harmful content. This is what taxpayers are supposed to be getting. The bill does not censure or limit educational content.
HB 583 applies existing constitutional standards related to "obscenity" and "harmful to minors" to database content contracts. Vendors are provided with ample opportunities to clean up their content and ensure it is age-appropriate or face financial penalties or cancelled contracts.
This issue is not limited to Ohio. Other states utilizing the Gale and EBSCO library databases have passed similar legislation to address these longstanding problems.
My bill doesn’t impose new financial burdens on our institutions, but instead empowers them with certified, trustworthy tools. Vendors like EBSCO can respond, as they have in other states that have passed these policies, by enhancing their curation processes, benefiting all stakeholders in the long run.
HB 583 is about building stronger safeguards for our children, easing the challenges faced by our schools and libraries, and ensuring every dollar spent advances genuine educational goals. Most important, it's about keeping kids safe at school and at home.
Rep. Kevin Ritter lives in Marietta and represents House District 94, which includes Washington County, Meigs County and part of Athens County.