WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representatives Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) yesterday introduced the PROTECT Our Children Act, which would reauthorize and modernize the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program:

“For decades, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program has played an invaluable role in helping federal, state, and local law enforcement work together to fight child exploitation and put vicious predators behind bars,” said Sen. Cornyn. “By extending and modernizing this program, our legislation would ensure these Task Forces can continue to protect our next generation in an increasingly digital world.”

“We must save children who are victims of the most ongoing vile, stomach-churning crimes because child sexual abuse goes unstopped,” said Sen. Blumenthal. “Protecting such victims is urgent and imperative—and we have an obligation to provide tools and resources necessary to do it. The PROTECT Our Children Act reauthorizes and modernizes the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Programs, enabling law enforcement to combat the exploding, serious dangers of abhorrent abuse in an online society. This essential legislation will help safeguard our children and hold predators accountable.”

“For more than 15 years, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program has helped law enforcement agencies protect innocent children from sexual predators who wish to exploit them online,” said Sen. Blackburn. “The PROTECT Our Children Act would reauthorize this critical program to combat technology-facilitated crimes against children.”

“In almost every aspect of the real world, child safety is a top priority.  That sense of urgency should extend to the virtual world too,” said Sen. Durbin. “Today, I’m continuing my efforts to crack down on CSAM by introducing the PROTECT Our Children Act with Senator Cornyn.  Our legislation will ensure that the ICAC Program has the resources it needs so state and local law enforcement can continue to hold perpetrators accountable and make the internet safer for its youngest users.”

“As a former prosecutor, I know the importance of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program for our law enforcement officials,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “This law will help us continue this critical collaborative effort to protect children from predators on the internet.”

“This legislation is critical to ensuring that children are not left at the mercy of evil predators,” said Rep. Moran. “It is imperative that we combat these heinous crimes, ensure thorough investigations and swift justice for victims, and advance the important work of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program. Reauthorizing this task force will empower law enforcement to dismantle networks of exploitation and protect vulnerable children from online predators nationwide.”

“Children deserve to grow up safe, without the fear of exploitation, and the ICAC Task Force Program helps us secure that possibility. ICAC arrests have gone up significantly over the years, with nearly 11,000 made last fiscal year alone, getting perpetrators off the streets and away from our children. But more needs to be done. I’m grateful for and proud to work with my colleagues across the aisle to reaffirm our commitment to America’s children and build on the original PROTECT Act that I authored over a decade ago,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “Technology evolves rapidly, so we have to move just as fast to make the internet a safe space for children and guard against those who try to exploit them.”  

Background:

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children. This encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education. This national network of 61 coordinated task forces represents more than 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies engaged in both proactive and reactive investigations, forensic investigations, and criminal prosecutions.

Since 1998, ICAC Task Forces have trained more than 826,700 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and other professionals on techniques to investigative and prosecute ICAC-related cases. They have also reviewed more than 1,452,040 reports of online child exploitation, resulting in the arrest of more than 123,790 suspects.

The PROTECT Our Children Act would:

• Update and modernize the requirements for the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction, including requiring the U.S. Department of Justice to provide detailed, useful information on efforts to protect children nationwide;
• Provide liability protection for ICAC Task Forces in the course of conducting criminal investigations of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and child abuse material;
• Make needed technical improvements and clarifications to the statutory text of the program to match it to current technology and needs;
• Focus the ICAC program on both proactive and reactive investigations;
• And reauthorize the ICAC Program through 2027 with an escalator authorization.

The PROTECT Our Children Act is endorsed by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), National Children’s Alliance, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Rights 4 Girls, National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), Raven, Fraternal Order of Police, Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA), and the National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC).