WASHINGTON, D.C., April 24, 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 introduction of the Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment (STOP CSAM) Act (H.R.7949) to support victims of online sexual exploitation and promote accountability and transparency within the tech industry. The bill was introduced on April 11, 2024, in the House of Representatives by Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29) and Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL-2).
“The End OSEAC Coalition commends Reps. Garcia and Moore for their leadership to increase online protections for children,” said Coco Lammers, Director of the End OSEAC Coalition. “The volume of internet crimes against children is rapidly increasing, and our government must pass legislation to curb these horrific forms of abuse and exploitation.”
“The Survivors Council is thankful for the leaders willing to make these critical moves to help protect our nation’s children and the world,” said Jajaira Overton, End OSEAC Survivors Council Chair. “Please continue to set the standard of making our kids and survivors of exploitation and abuse a priority. We thank you.”
The STOP CSAM Act would:
- Simplify the process for victims to request the removal of child sexual abuse material and related imagery from tech platforms and penalize companies who fail to comply with the removal request.
- Expand protections by permitting victims of online child sexual exploitation to bring a civil cause of action against tech companies that host, store, promote or facilitate the exploitation and related materials.
- Strengthen current CyberTipline reporting requirements and further amend the CyberTipline statute to provide tools to promote compliance with the statute’s mandates.
- Require large tech companies subject to CyberTipline statutes to submit annual reports describing their efforts to protect kids online.
A Senate version of the STOP CSAM Act (S.1199) was introduced on April 19, 2023, by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously on May 11, 2023, and awaits action by the full Senate.
The End OSEAC Coalition and its Survivors Council urge Congress to pass a package of online child safety bills before the end of this session, including EARN IT Act (S.1207 / H.R.2732), KOSA (S.1409), REPORT Act (S.474/H.R.5082), and SHIELD Act (S.412/H.R.3686).
About the End OSEAC Coalition
The 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.
