(The Center Square) — The California Family Council joins law enforcement in revealing a new LGBTQ+ suicide hotline bill that could expose children to online predators.
Assembly Bill 727 would require the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide hotline, be printed on all public school student ID cards for grades 7 through college.
The online website connected to the Trevor Project, known as TrevorSpace, is a platform that encourages LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 to 24 to connect and share personal stories.
Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed his support for this LGBTQ+ suicide prevention hotline.
“Cutting off kids’ access to help is indefensible. While the Trump administration walks away from its responsibility, California will continue to expand access to life-saving resources, because the life of every child — straight, gay, trans — is worth fighting for,” said Gov. Newsom.
California Assemblyman Mark Gonzalez D-Los Angeles, who authored the bill, said the goal is suicide prevention. The legislator is scheduled to speak at a key hearing Wednesday before the Senate Education Committee.
But law enforcement and family advocates warn that the website is not monitored and can leave children vulnerable.
“TrevorSpace Is Not Monitored,” Kevin Brown, a former police officer and founder of Lives Worth Saving, a nonprofit specializing in the recovery of child sex trafficking victims, said. “Anyone can create an account regardless of their age. The site does not have a way to verify the age of the person making the account. That leaves vulnerable individuals exposed to victimization by predators.”
Letters opposing this bill, submitted by both the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and Lives Worth Saving, showed by conducting undercover tests, how easily predators could infiltrate TrevorSpace.
They found that adults were able to create accounts, bypass age verification and immediately begin private conversations with minors surrounding sexually charged topics, without any real-time oversight.
“We do not want our opposition to be taken out of context and read narrowly – we are not opposed to the broader goals of AB 727. We support accessible, trauma-informed, culturally competent mental health services for all students, including LGBTQ+ youth,” Sheriff Chad Bianco of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office stated. “But as written, this bill fails to weigh the risks associated with exposing at-promise youth to poorly regulated online spaces – spaces that are already being exploited by bad actors.”
Brown shared his own undercover operation.
“I created an account (I’m 70 years old) posing as a 15-year-old boy. Within minutes, I was able to connect with several others via a ‘club’ that is actually a chat room,” Brown said. “One person was of particular interest, as he wanted to take our chat from TrevorSpace and move it to Discord, another social media site I’m familiar with.”
“In an undercover capacity, I have made contact with people on Discord who sell and distribute Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM). This experience further confirms to me that a child on TrevorSpace could easily be taken to a site (Discord) where they could become victimized by a predator.”
“TrevorSpace is a breeding ground for grooming, the process used by predators to gain the trust of a victim for future sexual exploitation,” Brown said.
One feature advocacy groups found unsettling was the TrevorSpace “Quick Exit” button, originally developed for people reporting human trafficking — a feature now repurposed to let minors quickly hide their activity from parents.
“This bill doesn’t just put a phone number on the back of a student ID,” said Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council. “It opens a digital doorway into TrevorSpace — a so-called ‘safe space’ that law enforcement now confirms is being exploited by predators. We’ve been warning about this bill for months. Now sheriffs and trafficking experts are echoing those same warnings. When law enforcement and pro-family advocates agree, it’s time for legislators to listen.”
