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By Jennifer Dunton, Executive Director at Raven & Melanie Duzyj, Senior Director of Strategy & Operations at Global Emancipation Network
Imagine trying to cut down a tree with a butter knife. US law enforcement officers who investigate internet crimes against children are similarly disadvantaged in that the law hasn’t caught up to support stronger tools that already exist. The Safe Cloud Storage Act (S. 3023 / H.R. 7834) fixes that, and the End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (OSEAC) Coalition is proud to add our voice in support.
1. Physical storage is failing under the load.
Law enforcement is receiving a growing volume of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) evidence and obscene visual depictions of children every year, but are forced to place this growing burden on thumb drives, external hard drives and on-premises servers that were never designed for this scale of data and evidence.
2. Investigations aren’t moving as fast as the predators.
Lab-based processing slows investigations. Without cloud computing tools, agencies can’t efficiently store, share or analyze evidence at scale. The subsequent delays in processing translate directly into a delay in victim identification and offenders remaining at large longer than necessary.
3. Current law prohibits the obvious solution.
Federal law does not currently authorize law enforcement to store CSAM evidence in the cloud, so investigators are legally blocked from using the technology that would most help them do their jobs. Laws have to evolve to match current realities and needs.
Law enforcement teams focused on internet crimes against children (ICAC) need better tools to keep pace with cybercrime. In 2024, the ICAC Task Force conducted 203,467 investigations. Meanwhile in 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline received 21.3 million reports, each generating digital evidence and storage delays for the agencies that have to process them.
The Safe Cloud Storage Act is a narrow, technical fix aimed squarely at this resource gap. It:
Authorizes storage, sharing and processing. Law enforcement agencies may store, share and process CSAM and obscene visual depictions of children in approved, secure cloud environments.
Sets rigorous cybersecurity standards. Third-party vendors must meet National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliance requirements, which are the same standards already in place for sensitive criminal justice information broadly.
Provides limited liability for approved vendors. It creates a liability framework that lets responsible technology companies participate without undue legal exposure, while still holding them accountable for intentional, reckless or negligent conduct.
Requires vendor transparency. Companies approved to provide these services must notify the Department of Justice and state Attorneys General of any contracts entered into for this purpose, ensuring accountability at every level.
This bill gives investigators a legal, secure pathway to modernize how they store and process evidence, so cases move faster and investigators identify victims sooner.
This is also an invitation to the private sector. Cloud providers that can meet NIST requirements are exactly the vendors this bill envisions. Passage allows ICAC Task Forces and law enforcement agencies to use secure cloud technology at scale, strengthening their ability to combat online child exploitation. That’s a meaningful opening for responsible technology companies to put their infrastructure and expertise directly to work protecting kids.
This is one of the more bipartisan, uncontroversial pieces of legislation working through Congress right now. The Senate version passed unanimously. The House version advanced unanimously out of the House Judiciary Committee with strong bipartisan support, which isn’t something we see on every child safety bill. It’s expected to come to the House floor under suspension of the rules sometime in September.
The End OSEAC Coalition formally voted to endorse the Safe Cloud Storage Act. This is our second currently endorsed piece of legislation, alongside the STOP CSAM Act, and we don’t take this step lightly. Our Coalition’s endorsement reflects strong consensus among organizations representing diverse perspectives across child safety, law enforcement and survivor advocacy.
We support this bill because it removes a legal obstacle that has nothing to do with policy disagreement and everything to do with outdated statutes. There is no meaningful case against giving law enforcement secure, modern tools to do work they’re already doing under far harder conditions than necessary. Faster processing means faster victim identification. Faster victim identification means children get help and offenders are held accountable sooner.
This bill will provide a meaningful fix and the kind of common-sense, bipartisan progress we should all support.
With a House vote expected under suspension in September, now is the time for Congress to finish the job. We’ll be watching the calendar closely and will share updates as the vote approaches.
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