CatchChat wins Rep. Greg Lopez’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Colorado’s Fourth District
Rep. Greg Lopez has named Sidd Aradhya, a twelfth grader at Rock Canyon High School, as the winner of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Colorado’s Fourth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of CatchChat, the student said, “As our world becomes increasingly digital, the threat of harmful sex-crimes and internet predators continues to explode. Now, more than ever, open-chat websites allow unsolicited contact between malicious individuals and children.
The problem first came to our attention when I created a fake Instagram profile. Initially made as a joke, I was horrified when the profile received dozens of creepy direct messages—meet-up suggestions, strange texts, and images. Upon asking some of our friends, I realized this was a real problem not limited to fake profiles. One of these DMs went so far that I decided to report him to the police. Upon doing so, the idea was devised for CatchChat and I met with law enforcement.
While investigators and detectives are hard at work—they are referred to as ‘chatters‚’ because they pretend to be decoy children online to talk to predators. It is usually effective for only one person at a time. After all, there are only so many detectives to face a seemingly infinite number of malicious individuals.
We took this to heart with CatchChat, especially when interviewing law enforcement individuals. Numerous detectives from the Douglas County sheriff, ICAC, and FBI human trafficking joint task force gave an idea of the main problems detectives face, including Long Time Consumption, detectives not being familiar with slang used by children, and the tiring or fatiguing for detectives
These issues inspired CatchChat—the AI responses directly address number problem two while saving time for problems one and three. CatchChat wants to make the process easier for detectives, soliciting a world where internet crimes are a thing of the past. Hopefully, CatchChat will continue helping detective work by making it more efficient and widespread. This not only helps the problem of internet safety but allows detectives to focus on other, perhaps more important work.”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival.
The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.