Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

What Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood does

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, now operating under the trade name Fairplay, is a Boston-based nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 2000 and led by Executive Director Josh Golin. It is the only US organization dedicated solely to ending marketing to children and has, over more than 25 years, expanded its mission to encompass Big Tech accountability and protection of children from digital harms. The organization explicitly refuses donations from Big Tech or any corporation to preserve independent advocacy, and funds operations through individual donations and foundation grants. Headcount is small (1-10 employees) and no revenue figures are publicly disclosed in the available data.

Fairplay's core 'products' are advocacy campaigns, coalition letters, downloadable Action Kits, and research reports rather than technology platforms. Notable initiatives include the Phone-Free Schools Campaign (active in 18+ states), the Pause GenAI in Schools coalition (260+ signatories), the Stop YouTube AI Slop letter (200+ signatories), the AI Toy Advisory (150+ endorsers), and the FTC complaint against Roblox. The Screen Time Action Network, a membership community of 3,000+ experts, researchers, and advocates, and ParentsSOS, a survivor-parent coalition co-founded by Fairplay, function as the organization's primary mobilization engines. Reports such as 'Teen Accounts, Broken Promises' are produced with credentialed partners including Meta whistleblower Arturo Béjar.

The business model is donation-driven with no commercial revenue stream. Resources, Action Kits, and advocacy tools are distributed free of charge through fairplayforkids.org, social media, and email newsletters. Distribution is essentially self-serve digital plus community mobilization, with earned media generated through press inquiries and high-profile coalition activity. No pricing, API, integrations, patents, or proprietary technology assets are disclosed; the organization explicitly states its technology footprint is 'Not applicable' as it does not build products or platforms.

Name

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

Legal name

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

Website

https://commercialfreechildhood.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fairplay (formerly Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) is a Boston-based nonprofit advocacy organization that mobilizes parents, experts, and policymakers to end commercial exploitation of children and hold Big Tech accountable for digital harms. It funds operations through donations while refusing corporate contributions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Fairplay relies on donations from individuals and foundations to fund advocacy work. The organization explicitly states it does not accept donations from Big Tech or any corporation, ensuring independence in advocacy efforts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fairplay is a nonprofit advocacy organization that runs campaigns, produces research reports, and mobilizes parents, educators, and advocates to protect children from exploitative marketing, harmful digital platforms, and Big Tech business practices. Its offerings include the Screen Time Action Network (a 3,000+ member advocacy community), downloadable action kits, the ParentsSOS survivor-parent network, and named campaigns (e.g., Phone-Free Schools, Roblox Investigation, Pause GenAI in Schools, Stop YouTube AI Slop, AI Toy Advisory).

Product overview

Fairplay (formerly Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) is a nonprofit advocacy organization, not a technology product company. It offers no commercial products but provides advocacy campaigns, educational resources, and community organizing tools. Its core offerings include the Screen Time Action Network (a membership community), downloadable Action Kits on topics like online harms and school screen policies, advocacy campaigns targeting Big Tech companies (Roblox, Meta/Instagram, YouTube, Google), legislative advocacy for the Kids Online Safety Act, and research reports on children's online safety. The organization also runs the ParentsSOS parent survivor network and the Phone-Free Schools campaign that has influenced legislation in 18 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Screen Time Action Network

Quantifiable outcome

• Helped get phones out of schools in 18+ states
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• ParentsSOScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of survivor parents whose children died from online harms (suicide, drug use, deadly viral challenges). Transformed grief into action to help pass KOSA 91-3 in the Senate. Co-founded by Fairplay.
• Screen Time Action NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner3,000+ experts, researchers, and advocates working to help kids and families find time away from commercialized digital devices. Network coordinated by Fairplay for advocacy and collective action.
• Over 260 Organizations and Experts (GenAI Pause Coalition)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition calling for five-year pause on generative AI products in preK-12 schools. Organizations and experts united to ensure AI products are safe before school deployment.
• Over 200 Organizations and Experts (YouTube AI Slop Letter)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition including Jonathan Haidt signing letter to YouTube and Google demanding protection of children from AI-generated content.
• Over 150 Advocacy Groups and Child Development Experts (AI Toy Advisory)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition endorsing advisory urging families not to buy AI toys for preschoolers, citing risks from addictive tech marketed to young children.
• Meta Whistleblower Arturo BéjarmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Meta whistleblower to produce 'Teen Accounts, Broken Promises' report exposing Instagram's failures to protect minors.
• Parents for Safe Online SpacesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in producing 'Teen Accounts, Broken Promises' report documenting Instagram's failures to protect minors from harmful content.
• Molly Rose FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in producing 'Teen Accounts, Broken Promises' report on Instagram's failures to protect minors online.
• Cybersecurity for DemocracymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in producing 'Teen Accounts, Broken Promises' report exposing Meta's failures to protect minors.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Consumer Reports: Independent consumer product testing and advocacy organization. Comparable independent funding model and consumer protection advocacy, with broader product coverage but overlapping child safety and digital platform concerns.
• Public Citizen: Consumer advocacy nonprofit with broad corporate accountability remit. Comparable independent funding model, regulatory complaint work, and Congressional advocacy, though spanning many sectors beyond children's digital safety.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: Established digital civil liberties nonprofit with broader remit than Fairplay but overlapping interest in child online safety, platform accountability, and privacy regulation. Larger scale and broader policy portfolio.
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Professional pediatric association that issues screen time and digital media guidelines for children. Highly comparable as a policy authority on child development and digital safety, with broader medical mandate and much larger membership.

Direct peers

• Fight for the Future: Digital rights advocacy nonprofit running grassroots campaigns against Big Tech harms. Comparable community-led mobilization, online campaign infrastructure, and policy advocacy targeting tech platforms.
• Common Sense Media: Nonprofit that rates and reviews media and technology for children and families. Directly comparable to Fairplay's mission to protect children from harmful digital content and marketing, with overlapping parent/educator audiences and policy advocacy work.
• Center for Digital Democracy: Consumer protection nonprofit focused on digital marketing practices and their impact on children. Direct peer in child digital welfare advocacy, with shared focus on FTC complaints and policy action against Big Tech commercial practices.
• Parents Television Council: Nonprofit advocating for responsible media for children, including screen time and content standards. Comparable grassroots mobilization model and policy advocacy targeting media platforms' impact on minors.

Emerging players

• ConnectSafely: Nonprofit focused on internet safety education for youth, parents, and educators. Smaller-scale peer with overlapping educational resource distribution, action kits, and stakeholder coalition work on digital safety.

Regional players

• 5Rights Foundation: UK-based nonprofit focused on children's digital rights and online safety regulation. Comparable policy-driven advocacy for child online safety, including age-appropriate design, though serving primarily UK/EU jurisdictions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/commercialfree
• Facebookfacebook.com/commercialfreechildhood
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/campaign-for-a-commercial-free-childhood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood