Congress Passes Bill to Combat Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Crisis
This week marks a significant stride in the fight against online child sexual abuse and exploitation as the House of Representatives has concurred with the Senate and passed the REPORT Act. The legislation is now awaiting the President's signature. Key provisions of this pivotal law include:
Mandating social media platforms to report instances of child sex trafficking and enticement, crimes currently underreported and not required for reporting.
Imposing stricter penalties on platforms that fail to report child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Extending the duration for which platforms must retain reported CSAM from 90 days to 1 year, allowing ample time for law enforcement to conduct thorough investigations.
Providing immunity from civil and criminal charges for children and their representatives who report CSAM to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) Cyber Tipline.
This legislation comes at a critical juncture, with the alarming statistics revealing the severity of the issue. In 2023 alone:
The Cyber Tipline received over 36 million reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
186,000 children fell victim to online sextortion, marking a stark increase from 80,000 in 2022.
Tragically, 20 cases of youth suicide have been reported in response to sextortion threats or image posting.
Shockingly, two-thirds of online sexual imagery of children appear to have been produced within the confines of their own homes.
In response to this growing crisis, the NCMEC has developed a poignant interactive video titled "No Escape Room," illustrating how teenagers can fall prey to predators through sextortion.
As an organization deeply committed to safeguarding children, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont heralds the passing of the REPORT Act as a crucial step towards protecting the most vulnerable members of our society.
The full Press Release from senator Ossoff (D-GA) can be found here.
The mission of PCAVT is to promote and support healthy relationships within families, schools, and communities to eliminate child abuse. Serving Vermont began as Parents Anonymous of VT in 1976 and has grown to have a helpline and 3 main programmatic areas: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Family Support Programs, and the Safe Environments for Infants and Toddlers Program. PCAVT partners with over 250 organizations across Vermont, and many more both nationally and internationally. PCAVT’s programs are skills based, teaching adults how to nurture healthy development in children, and emphasize adult responsibility in keeping children safe.