Hawley Opens Investigation into Google for Failure to Remove Child Sex Abuse Material

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Wednesday, March 04, 2026
WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)senta letter to Alphabet Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai, informing the company that his Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism is opening an investigation into the role that Big Tech platforms like Google play in the crisis of child trafficking and online exploitation.
“Yesterday, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which I chair, convened a hearing to investigate gaps in enforcement efforts to stop child sex trafficking. The testimony was shocking. Witnesses described an explosion of child sex abuse material (CSAM) online, which surpassed 100 million separate images and videos of suspected abuse in 2023 alone. We also learned at least 89,000 children depicted in these images remain unidentified—suffering without help—in just one single law enforcement database among many. Testimony further established that Google has failed to take robust action to assist survivors,”Senator Hawley wrote.
He continued, “Jane Doe, the mother of a survivor, testified that she still receives notifications of CSAM depicting her infant daughter, even twenty-five years after the abuse took place: ‘I’ve been fighting since day one. That’s all I do. I contact people… I said, if we were famous, if she was a celebrity, those pictures would be down. I said, she’s not famous. She’s famous to me, but evidently not famous enough to the world…I have had a fight with Google about it, saying for the safety of my child, you have to get these images off… these pictures are out there… it’s imperative that you get these things off the computer… they told me I have to contact the webmaster…'”
Senator Hawley concluded, “The Subcommittee is opening an investigation into the role that Big Tech platforms like Google play in perpetuating the crisis of child trafficking and exploitation.”
As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, Senator Hawley closed the letter by requesting Google provide a list of documents and information relating to the child sex abuse material present within Google’s platforms.
Read the full letterhereor below.
Mr. Sundar Pichai
Chief Executive Officer
Alphabet Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, California 94043
Dear Mr. Pichai:
Yesterday, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which I chair, convened a hearing to investigate gaps in enforcement efforts to stop child sex trafficking. The testimony was shocking. Witnesses described an explosion of child sex abuse material (CSAM) online, which surpassed 100 million separate images and videos of suspected abuse in 2023 alone. We also learned at least 89,000 children depicted in these images remain unidentified—suffering without help—in just one single law enforcement database among many. Testimony furtherestablished that Google has failed to take robust action to assist survivors.
The Subcommittee heard testimony from former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who testified to major gaps in various law enforcement databases and the lack of adequate staffing for experts in victim identification and federal investigative capacity. Additional expert witnesses explained that digital exploitation and coercion occur through recorded abuse and blackmail. They testified that children could be rescued from these abusive circumstances. Yet the most troubling testimony came from the parent of a survivor who revealed that this shocking abuse has still happened on your platform.
Jane Doe, the mother of a survivor, testified that she still receives notifications of CSAM depicting her infant daughter, even twenty-five years after the abuse took place:
I’ve been fighting since day one. That’s all I do. I contact people… I said, if we were famous, if she was a celebrity, those pictures would be down. I said, she’s not famous. She’s famous to me, but evidently not famous enough to the world…I have had a fight with Google about it, saying for the safety of my child, you have to get these images off… these pictures are out there… it’s imperative that you get these things off the computer… they told me I have to contact the webmaster…
The Subcommittee is opening an investigation into the role that Big Tech platforms like Google play in perpetuating the crisis of child trafficking and exploitation. Under the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction over federal criminal law and the enforcement of laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, please provide the following documents and information no later than March 18, 2026:
Sincerely,
Senator Josh Hawley
Chairman, Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism

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