The president signs the REPORT Act into law
WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 10, 2024 – The End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (OSEAC) Coalition, a group of organizations committed to advocacy to further policies that protect children online, applauds the president for signing the Revising Existing Procedures On Reporting via Technology Act (REPORT Act) into law on May 7.
Technology companies will now be required to report crimes against children including sex trafficking, grooming, enticement and other forms of online sexual exploitation and abuse. Fines for failure to do so will increase. The new law also extends the retention period for report contents submitted by these companies from 90 days to one year, giving law enforcement critical time to investigate and respond.
“The REPORT Act represents a collaborative effort between lawmakers from both political parties to embrace solutions to this horrific form of child sex trafficking, abuse and exploitation,” said Coco Lammers, Director of the End OSEAC Coalition. “Its adoption marks a significant milestone in the journey toward protecting kids from a multitude of online harms.”
“Social media companies have not been regulated or held accountable for crimes committed on their online platforms, and I am so pleased that we are finally making progress towards creating appropriate legislation to help keep our kids safe,” said Jajaira Overton, End OSEAC Survivors Council Chair. “this is the beginning of a safer online experience for our children. Let’s keep doing this important work. Thank you, President Biden!”
Introduced in the Senate by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA), the bipartisan bill passed in the Senate on Dec. 14, 2023, with an amendment by unanimous consent. A companion bill in the House of Representatives was introduced by Reps. Laurel Lee (R-FL-15), Susie Lee (D-NV-03), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-01), and Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04). It passed on April 29, 2024.
With a host of other online child safety bills at various stages of the legislative process, the End OSEAC Coalition implores Congress to move forward with the following to #ProtectKidsOnline: EARN IT Act (S.1207 / H.R.2732), KOSA (S.1409), SHIELD Act (S.412 / H.R.3686), and STOP CSAM Act (S.1199 / H.R.7949).
About the End OSEAC CoalitionThe End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (OSEAC) Coalition is a U.S. advocacy coalition that aims to improve U.S. government policies and programs to better prevent and address online sexual exploitation and abuse of children and provide appropriate support to survivors. Learn more about our mission to #ProtectKidsOnline: endoseac.org.
