Durbin, Hawley Reintroduce Bill Combatting Online Child Sexual Abuse Material
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) reintroduced the STOP CSAM Act. The legislation will crack down on the proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online by allowing victims of child sexual exploitation to sue companies that promoted or facilitated the exploitation, or that host or store CSAM or make it available. It will also support victims and increase transparency for online platforms by, among other things, expanding protections for child victims and witnesses in federal court; facilitating restitution for victims of child exploitation, human trafficking, sexual assault, and crimes of violence; strengthening CyberTipline reporting requirements; and requiring large tech companies to submit annual reports describing their efforts to promote a culture of safety for children on their platform. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) are cosponsors of the bill.
The Senators announced the legislation's reintroduction in February ahead of their joint hearing highlighting witnesses impacted by CSAM, including survivors, advocates, and law enforcement experts. They originally introduced the legislation last Congress and garnered the votes to unanimously advance it through the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“In the real world, child safety is a top priority. But in the virtual world, criminals and bullies don’t need to pick a lock or wait outside the playground to cause harm. They can harass, intimidate, addict, or sexually exploit our kids without leaving home,” said Durbin. “Big Tech has woefully failed to police itself, and the American people are demanding that Congress intervene. We made significant headway last year to address Big Tech’s failure to protect our kids online and it’s time to build on that progress. I’m glad to partner with Senator Hawley to reintroduce our bill supporting victims of child sexual exploitation and increasing accountability for tech companies.”
“Every day that Congress fails to protect kids online is another day that online predators can victimize children and steal their innocence—and social media companies are totally complicit,” said Hawley. “To stop them, Congress must give parents and victims the right to sue these companies, and my bipartisan legislation would empower them to do just that.”
Read the full bill text here.
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—and was reintroduced in the Senate yesterday. 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 is produced without the consent of the person depicted.
Earlier this year, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Children’s Safety in the Digital Era: Strengthening Protections and Addressing Legal Gaps.” Durbin’s opening statement from that hearing is available here, and his questions for the witnesses are available here.
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