Durbin Delivers Opening Statement In Judiciary Committee Hearing On Protecting Kids Online
During his opening statement, Durbin commented on his STOP CSAM Act, legislation that would crack down on the proliferation of child sexual abuse material online
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered opening remarks in today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Protecting Our Children Online Against the Evolving Offender.” During his opening, Durbin highlighted his STOP CSAM Act, bipartisan legislation that would crack down on the proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online by allowing victims to sue companies that host this material, among other things. The Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced this legislation earlier this year.
In 2021, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a total of 139 CyberTips involving financially-motivated sextortion. In the first six months of 2025 alone, there have already been 23,593 financial-sextortion CyberTips. Another disturbing trend is a rise in offenders who do not just view or trade images of abuse, but direct real-time torture, encourage escalating violence, and groom children to produce CSAM and self-harm videos of themselves and others. NCMEC has identified this behavior as “sadistic online exploitation.” In the first six months of 2025, NCMEC received 1,093 sadistic exploitation reports—double the number from the same period in 2024.
Key Quotes:
“Let’s have a sense of urgency about what we are setting out to do. I have worked with Senator Hawley and many others—survivors, law enforcement, [and] advocates—to put together the STOP CSAM Act. The bill takes a comprehensive approach to stemming the tide of online child exploitation.”
“I have repeatedly said that we must bring the same urgency to protecting kids in the virtual world that we do in the real world. But the landscape of online child exploitation has changed dramatically by the day. Two trends in particular demand our immediate attention: financially-motivated sextortion and sadistic online exploitation. What was once rare is now an epidemic.”
“NCMEC has identified more than 36 young men in the United States who have died by suicide after being sextorted. We are joined today by one of those families. Mrs. [Tamia] Woods, thank you for being here. She lost her son James at 17-years-old after he was targeted. She is here in a courageous capacity—transforming unbearable loss into a call for action.”
“This is an unsuitable systemic failure, and what are we going to do about it? We are going to have a hearing, we are going to call witnesses, we are going to lament the situation. What are we going to do about it? Is there going to be a bill in the new session? To say that we are so overwhelmed with legislation on the floor [and] we don't have time [to address CSAM] is a joke… We have more than enough time to do it right. This Committee has a history of tackling tough issues. Mr. Chairman, it is up to you and me and Senators on both sides of the aisle to make it happen.”
Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.
Durbin has used his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee to prioritize child safety online through hearings, legislation, and oversight efforts. On January 31, 2024, while Durbin was serving as Chair, the Committee held a hearing featuring testimony from the CEOs of social media companies Discord, Meta, Snap, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter). This hearing highlighted the ongoing risk to children and the immediate need for Congress to act on the bipartisan bills reported by the Committee.
In addition, Durbin’s bipartisan Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024 (DEFIANCE Act) passed the Senate in July 2024. The legislation would hold accountable those responsible for the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexually-explicit “deepfake” images and videos. The volume of “deepfake” content available online is increasing exponentially as the technology used to create it has become more accessible to the public. The overwhelming majority of this material is sexually explicit and being produced without the consent of the person depicted.
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