Cornyn, Blumenthal and colleagues introduce bill to combat child exploitation

September 18 – WASHINGTON US Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representatives Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) introduced the “PROTECT Our Children Act” on Tuesday, which would renew and modernize the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program:

“For decades, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program has played an invaluable role in helping federal, state, and local agencies work together to combat child exploitation and put vicious sex offenders behind bars,” said Senator Cornyn. “By expanding and modernizing this program, our legislation would ensure that these task forces can continue to protect our next generation in an increasingly digital world.”

“We must protect children who are victims of the most heinous and cruel crimes, because child sexual abuse continues unabated,” said Senator Blumenthal. “Protecting these victims is urgent and imperative – and we have an obligation to provide the tools and resources needed to do so. The PROTECT Our Children Act renews and modernizes the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force’s programs and empowers law enforcement to combat the exploding, serious dangers of heinous abuse in an online society. This important legislation will help protect our children and hold perpetrators accountable.”

“For more than 15 years, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program has helped law enforcement protect innocent children from sex offenders seeking to exploit them online,” said Senator Blackburn. “The PROTECT Our Children Act would re-enact this important program to combat technology-enabled crimes against children.”

“In nearly every area of ​​the real world, child safety is a top priority. That sense of urgency should extend to the virtual world as well,” said Senator Durbin. “Today, I am continuing my efforts to combat CSAM by joining Senator Cornyn in introducing the PROTECT Our Children Act. Our legislation will ensure that the ICAC program has the resources it needs to enable state and local law enforcement to continue holding perpetrators accountable and making the Internet safer for its youngest users.”

“As a former prosecutor, I know how important the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program is to our law enforcement agencies,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This bill will help us continue this important collaborative effort to protect children from online sex offenders.”

“This bill is critical to ensuring that children are not at the mercy of malicious perpetrators,” said Rep. Moran. “It is imperative that we combat these heinous crimes, ensure thorough investigations and swift justice for victims, and advance the important work of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force program. Reauthorizing this Task Force will empower law enforcement to dismantle exploitation networks and protect vulnerable children from online predators nationwide.”

“Children deserve to grow up safe and without fear of exploitation, and the ICAC Task Force Program helps us create that opportunity. ICAC arrests have increased significantly over the years. In the last fiscal year alone, nearly 11,000 arrests were made, getting perpetrators off the streets and away from our children. But more needs to be done. I am grateful and proud to work with my colleagues across the aisle to reaffirm our commitment to America’s children and build on the original PROTECT Act I authored over a decade ago,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “Technology is evolving rapidly, so we must act just as quickly to make the internet a safe place for children and protect ourselves from those who seek to exploit them.”

Background:

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program supports state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to technology-enabled child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children. This includes forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim assistance, and public education. This national network of 61 coordinated task forces represents more than 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies that conduct both proactive and reactive investigations, forensic investigations, and prosecutions.

Since 1998, ICAC responders have trained more than 826,700 police officers, prosecutors and other professionals in procedures for investigating and prosecuting ICAC-related cases. They have also investigated more than 1,452,040 reports of online child exploitation, resulting in the arrest of more than 123,790 suspects.

The PROTECT Our Children Act would:

– Updating and modernizing the requirements of the National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Child Exploitation, including requiring the U.S. Department of Justice to provide detailed and useful information on nationwide efforts to protect children.

— Ensuring liability protection for ICAC task forces when conducting criminal investigations into child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and child abuse material;

— Make necessary technical improvements and clarifications to the legislative text of the programme in order to adapt it to current technology and requirements;

— Focus the ICAC program on both proactive and reactive investigations.

– And extend the ICAC program until 2027 with a phased authorization.

The PROTECT Our Children Act is sponsored by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), the National Children’s Alliance, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Rights 4 Girls, the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), Raven, Fraternal Order of Police, the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA), and the National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC).