Concerns Over Online Child Exploitation Prompt Legislative Action

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is leading an effort against online child exploitation through a trio of new bills announced on Tuesday. As the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Durbin is co-sponsoring these bills with GOP Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, targeting child predators online and on social media.

Durbin stated that Big Tech continues to fail vulnerable populations by not implementing safety-by-design measures or adequately detecting violent sexual exploitation of children on their platforms. Among the proposed legislation is the Sentencing Accountability for Exploitation Act, which would require the U.S.

Sentencing Commission to develop new guidelines that include aggravating factors for child sex abuse material, particularly if technology is used to conceal an offender's identity. The Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online Act aims to prohibit coercing children into self-harm, with a maximum life sentence for coercion involving actual or attempted suicide.

The Stop Sextortion Act would increase the maximum penalty for extorting and coercing children by threatening to distribute sex abuse material from five to ten years. Durbin also called for the Senate to pass the STOP CSAM Act, which would allow victims of child sexual exploitation to sue online platforms that host or distribute child sex abuse material.

However, this bill faced opposition from Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who objected, citing concerns it could weaken encryption services for all users. This legislative push comes amid heightened awareness of online child exploitation, highlighted by a recent case in Chicago where a man was accused of sexually exploiting a 14-year-old girl after posing as a 17-year-old on Snapchat.

Durbin, who plans to retire after five terms in the Senate, has long made the regulation of Big Tech a priority, having previously summoned major social media platform heads for hearings on the issue. Civil rights groups have criticized certain bills, including the STOP CSAM Act, for potentially threatening the privacy and security of all internet users.