Within the past week, both chambers of Congress have held hearings on child safety and online protection against sexual abuse and exploitation. The House hearing spotlighted how to best protect victims of human trafficking, especially domestic sex trafficking, and how to halt Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Witnesses for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance presented evidence to dispel misconceptions about victims. “The truth about domestic minor sex trafficking is that for girls of color and LGBTQ youth, and children with disabilities, the greatest dangers are from child welfare involvement, running away, being groomed online, and homelessness.” Passing a Trafficking Survivors Relief Act (TRSA) and extending the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) would shield victims from forced criminality. Experts also noted that grooming prevention education in schools (1 hour twice per year) would help raise youth awareness of these harms, and Democrats condemned the Trump Administration’s disastrous funding freeze and illuminated its “harmful consequences in disrupting efforts to combat human trafficking and online exploitation.” The Senate hearing also highlighted the dangers of CSAM and the ability of generative AI to create hundreds of thousands of explicit images. Senator Grassley stated that big tech is noticeably absent in preventing CSAM, and their algorithms have fostered a rise in sexual exploitation of minor children and others. Effective tools are being developed to identify CSAM and need bipartisan support to continue those efforts. 

Access the House Judiciary hearing Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking and Online Exploitation here. 

Access the Senate Judiciary hearing Children’s Safety in the Digital Era: Strengthening Protections and Addressing Legal Gaps here.