Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Barry Moore, Sen. Durbin Introduce the Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act

Washington D.C. — Today, Representatives Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29) and Barry Moore (R-AL-02), alongside Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment (STOP CSAM) Act. This bill would expand the protections for child victims and witnesses in federal court proceedings and help the victims of child exploitation, human trafficking, sexual assault, and crimes of violence seek justice.

“There is no greater responsibility than keeping our children safe,” said Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. “The presence of the internet has made it increasingly easy for these offenders to run rampant. As emerging technologies make the internet accessible for everyone, especially among children, malicious individuals are using it as a hub to target and violate child sexual abuse laws. The STOP CSAM Act will hold tech companies accountable by creating stronger protection for our children. It’s time for Congress to act and protect our children from online predators.”

"Unfortunately, emerging technologies have only made it easier for criminals to obtain child sexual abuse material,” said Congressman Barry Moore. "American victims have increased 422 percent over a 15-year period. I thank Rep. Garcia for joining me on this bipartisan legislation that strengthens reporting requirements to hold big tech accountable when they fail to protect our children and helps victims get the justice they deserve."

“We’ve struck a remarkable bipartisan note in Congress on protecting kids from sexual exploitation online. These horrible circumstances are a parent’s worst nightmare, and Big Tech has failed to regulate itself at the expense of our children. It’s past time that we allow victims their day in court and hold online platforms accountable. I thank Congresswoman Garcia for her work to introduce the STOP CSAM Act in the House and look forward to working with her to pass it into law,” said U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Since the enactment of the PROTECT Our Children Act in 2008, victims of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) have increased exponentially, from 2,172 victims in 2009 to over 19,100 as of April 2022.  The U.S. Sentencing Commission found a 422% increase in CSAM production offenders from 2005, with 98 defendants and 512 defendants in 2019.

The STOP CSAM Act  would:

• Empower victims by making it easier for them to ask tech companies to remove child sexual abuse material and related imagery from their platforms and by creating an administrative penalty for the failure to comply with a removal request.
• Expand the federal civil cause of action for child victims by permitting victims of online child sexual exploitation to bring a civil cause of action against tech platforms and app stores that promoted or facilitated the exploitation, or that host or store CSAM or make it available.
• Strengthen current CyberTipline reporting requirements and further amend the CyberTipline statute to provide a variety of tools to promote compliance with the statute’s mandates.
• Require large tech companies that are subject to the CyberTipline statute to submit annual reports describing their efforts to promote a culture of safety for children on their platform.

The STOP CSAM Act is endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Children’s Alliance, ECPAT-USA, Raven, Child Rescue Coalition, the National District Attorney’s Association, the National Fraternal Order of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Criminal Justice Training Center, and the Youth Power Project.

For the legislative text, 

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Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018, becoming the first Latina ever to represent the Texas 29th Congressional District. She is the Vice Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, the Vice Chair on Housing and Transportation of the House Democratic Caucus Poverty Task Force, and a member of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government