WASHINGTON—Today, Sens. Ron Wyden, Peter Welch, Alex Padilla, Laphonza Butler and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with their colleagues Reps. Don Bacon, Brian Fitzpatrick, Anna Eshoo and Sheila Jackson Lee in the House, reintroduced the Invest in Child Safety Act, which would give law enforcement the critical resources they need to investigate and prosecute predators harming children online.
NetChoice enthusiastically supports the Invest in Child Safety Act and calls on Congress to pass it in both Houses. This legislation is a real solution that will meaningfully help and protect children online and is constitutionally sound.
Online services and social media businesses are already removing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and reporting it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Unfortunately, less than 1% of reports of CSAM are even investigated. Without adequate resources for law enforcement, online predators will not be successfully prosecuted.This bill aims to help address that issue. Tech is not the police—only law enforcement can put predators behind bars. It’s far past time they have the resources to properly do so.
“NetChoice applauds Sens. Wyden, Welch, Padilla, Butler and Gillibrand, and Reps. Bacon, Fitzpatrick, Eshoo and Lee, for reintroducing the Invest in Child Safety Act and working to give much needed resources to address horrific crimes of child sexual exploitation to law enforcement,” said NetChoice Vice President and General Counsel Carl Szabo. “We look forward to seeing Congress advance this important bill, and we are happy to work with Members on even more ways to increase safety and security for all Americans and our kids online.”
You can read more about the Invest in Child Safety Act here. Read about NetChoice’s proposals to keep kids—and all Americans—safe online here.
Please contact Krista Chavez at press@netchoice.org with inquiries.