Durbin, Grassley Introduce Landmark Legislative Package To Protect Kids Online

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced three bipartisan bills to hold violent criminals accountable and combat the disturbing rise in online child exploitation. The Committee isconveninga hearing on child safety online today.
TheSentencing Accountability for Exploitation Act(SAFE Act),Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online Act(ECCHO Act) andStop Sextortion Actwould each address concerning developments in online child abuse by revamping federal sentencing laws, targeting online criminal networks and cracking down on offenders who use child sex abuse material (CSAM) to extort and coerce children.
“Because of modern technology, child predators from anywhere in the world can target American kids online. As technology has evolved, so have online child exploiters. Today, offenders are engaging in sadistic online exploitation and coercing kids to take their own lives. Big Tech continues to fail our most vulnerable because they refuse to incorporate safety-by-design measures into their platforms or make meaningful efforts to detect the increasingly violent and depraved sexual exploitation of children on their services. I’m proud to join Senator Grassley in introducing three bills aimed at curbing these horrific crimes online, in addition to continuing to work on advancing other critical reforms like mySTOP CSAM Act. Congress has spent enough time investigating tech platforms’ failures; it’s now time that we deliver for the American people,”said Durbin.
“Changes in technology have created new opportunities for criminals to harass, exploit, intimidate and harm American children. These horrific crimes – often committed by violent online groups who take advantage of our nation’s outdated laws – have gone unchecked for far too long. Congress must stand up for American families and finally address the online rot that is hurting children nationwide. I’m proud to introduce these bills to protect children from online abuse, hold dangerous criminals accountable and secure much needed justice for victims and their families,”said Grassley.
TheSentencing Accountability for Exploitation Act(SAFE Act):
TheSAFE Actwould repeal outdated sentencing laws and require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to develop a new CSAM sentencing guideline that accounts for modern indicators of especially dangerous conduct. Some of these indicators – or aggravating factors – include: (1) if the offender participated in an online group dedicated to CSAM, (2) the length of time an offender was involved in CSAM, (3) the offenders’ use of software or technology to conceal their identity, (4) the offenders’ use of multiple platforms to engage in CSAM and (5) the number of victims.
The current CSAM sentencing guideline doesn’t consider modern aggravating factors, allowing some of the most nefarious child abusers to skate by with lesser sentences. However, because much of the current guideline was created through decades-old legislation, the Sentencing Commission is prohibited from updating the guideline without congressional action.
Read bill texthere.
TheEnding Coercion of Children and Harm Online Act(ECCHO Act):
TheECCHO Actwould create a new crime that prohibits individuals from coercing children into physically harming themselves, others or animals. The bill creates a penalty of up to life in prison if the offense involves the actual or attempted suicide by the victim or the death of another person, as well as a 30-year maximum penalty for harmful conduct that does not involve a death.
The U.S. has seen a recent and disturbing rise in online criminal networks – like Network 764 – that use synchronized group chats to coerce emotionally vulnerable children into engaging in abusive and degrading conduct. This conduct may include self-mutilation, online or in-person sexual acts, animal cruelty, acts of random violence, suicide and murder. Existing laws do not adequately address this extreme behavior, as there is no law that explicitly prohibits the coercion of children to hurt themselves or others.
Read bill texthere.
TheStop Sextortion Act:
TheStop Sextortion Actwould target offenders that threaten to distribute CSAM to intimidate, extort or coerce children. The bill would increase the maximum penalty for these types of offenses from five to 10 years.
In recent years, the U.S. has seen a significant increase in offenders who threaten to distribute CSAM to extort and coerce children – through both financially-motivated sextortion (FMS) and sadistic online exploitation (SOE). In the case of FMS, criminals trick children into sharing sexually explicit images and threaten to release those images if the victim doesn’t pay a ransom. Criminals who engage in SOE also trick children into sharing CSAM but threaten to release the images to compel victims to hurt themselves or others.
According to theNational Center for Missing & Exploited Children(NCMEC), in 2024 the number of reports concerning FMS increased by over 33%, and the number of reports concerning SOE increased by more than 200%. As of May 2025, FMS schemes have driven 40 American children to take their own lives.
Read bill texthere.
Durbin has used his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee to prioritize child safety online through hearings, legislation, and oversight efforts. On January 31, 2024, while Durbin was serving as Chair, the Committee held ahearingfeaturing testimony from the CEOs of social media companies Discord, Meta, Snap, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter). This hearing highlighted the ongoing risk to children and the immediate need for Congress to act on the bipartisan bills reported by the Committee.
Durbin and U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) also joined forces tore-introducethe bipartisanSTOP CSAM Act, which would combat online child sexual abuse material. The billpassedthe Judiciary Committee unanimously andawaitsaction on the Senate floor.
In addition, Durbin’s bipartisanDisrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024(DEFIANCE Act)passedthe Senate in July 2024—and wasreintroducedin the Senate this year. The legislation would hold accountable those responsible for the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexually-explicit “deepfake” images and videos. The volume of “deepfake” content available online is increasing exponentially as the technology used to create it has become more accessible to the public. The overwhelming majority of this material is sexually explicit and produced without the consent of the person depicted.
Earlier this year, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Children’s Safety in the Digital Era: Strengthening Protections and Addressing Legal Gaps.” Durbin’s opening statement from that hearing is availablehere, and his questions for the witnesses are availablehere.
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