[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 100 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2016-S2017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Online Safety

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, earlier this week, Apple unveiled its 
latest innovation, the Vision Pro. It is a mixed-reality headset that 
the company claims will blend together our virtual and physical worlds. 
Now, if you have seen this device, you might think it looks like an 
overpriced pair of ski goggles, but the implications for this 
technology are remarkable.
  Think about how far we have come in a few short decades. Thirty years 
ago, hardly anyone owned a cell phone, and even fewer were familiar 
with the concept of the World Wide Web; but, since then, everything has 
changed. We have gone from clunky desktop computers to smart phones and 
smart watches and now a headset that will transform your living room 
into a virtual playground--a virtual playground. Think about that. You 
can share it with just about anyone in the world--anyone--even 
potential sexual predators.
  And therein lies the problem. In the face of an unprecedented wave of 
technological innovation, one thing has remained the same: Our Nation's 
online safety laws are stuck in the last century. Over the past three 
decades, Congress has given tech and social media companies free rein 
to police themselves, and they have failed. Now our children are paying 
the price for these failures. It is time for Congress to step up and 
protect them.
  Today, more than one out of three teenagers say they use social media 
``almost constantly.'' That is by design. Big Tech giants and online 
platforms, powered by advanced algorithms, are capturing the minds and 
eyeballs of our kids and grandkids. And the more our children scroll, 
the more these platforms rake in profits.
  Now, of course, social media can benefit everyone, including young 
people. They can learn new skills and hobbies and really connect with 
valuable friends. But as most parents, grandparents, and public health 
experts will tell you, social media has a dark side.
  Last month, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an extraordinary 
warning--the first of its kind--to parents across America. Dr. Murthy 
said that social media can ``have a profound risk of harm to the mental 
health and well-being of children and adolescents.'' From anxiety and 
depression to body image issues, social media is exacerbating the youth 
mental health crisis in America.
  But there is another far more disturbing part of this story because, 
when it comes to online platforms like Instagram or TikTok, only a few 
taps and clicks stand between our children and online predators who 
hope to exploit them. Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published 
a report on what they described as a ``vast pedophile network'' that 
has been thriving on Instagram for years--years. According to the 
report, Instagram not only hosts photos and videos of children being 
sexually exploited; it actively promotes the despicable content to 
other users.
  Predators even connect with one another through a set of grotesque 
hash tags that I will not repeat on the Senate floor, and the worst of 
these predators try to target new, unsuspecting victims and persuade 
them to share explicit images of themselves.
  Let me tell you about one of the victims. His name was James Woods. 
Last year James, who, at 17, was getting ready to graduate from high 
school, died by suicide after being targeted in a scheme known as 
``sextortion.'' In James' case, he was contacted through Instagram by a 
user claiming to be a young woman. The conversation quickly turned 
sexual, and the user asked James to share explicit images of himself. 
Unfortunately, he complied.
  Moments later, he received another message, this time with a threat: 
Send me $6,000, or else those images will be sent to everyone you know.
  James was terrified. He tried to reason with this predator by sending 
him a $100 gift card, but the threats continued. He received 200 
messages in a single day, some threatening to hurt him or kill his 
family. One message read: ``You might as well end it now.''
  Soon after, James' father arrived home and discovered his son's 
lifeless body. James had his entire life ahead of him. He was a star on 
the school track team. He hoped to pursue a career in law enforcement. 
But now he is gone.
  You would think that Instagram, the platform through which James was 
exploited, would bear some responsibility--some responsibility--for 
this horrifying tragedy. After all, this predator used Instagram to 
contact James, solicit explicit images, and then threaten his life. But 
you would be wrong. Under our existing laws of the United States--
namely, section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, written nearly 
30 years ago--platforms like Instagram have near total immunity from 
being held legally accountable for this type of atrocity. That has to 
change.
  Earlier this year, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I 
pledged that we would take vigorous action to hold Big Tech accountable 
and stop the online exploitation of children. As part of this effort, I 
introduced a bill, the Stop CSAM Act. CSAM stands for ``child sexual 
abuse material.''
  This legislation would create a civil remedy against any online 
platform that facilitates the exchange of child sexual abuse materials. 
In other words, if the Stop CSAM Act were law today, James' parents 
would be able to take legal action against Instagram for failing to 
fulfill their basic responsibility to protect their customers.
  Importantly, my Stop CSAM Act is one of five pieces of legislation 
that has been reported out of the Judiciary Committee during this 
Congress to stop the exploitation of children online. Every single one 
of these pieces of legislation was reported from the Senate Judiciary 
Committee by a unanimous vote--all five.
  Mr. President, you personally, and my colleagues, take a look at the 
members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That is the most amazing 
display of political extremes--right and left and center, for that 
matter--that you will find in Congress. All members of the committee 
voted in favor of these five pieces of legislation to protect our kids 
from what is going on on the cell phones across America.
  We had testimony from parents--one sad story after another of 
children who, because of sextortion, bullying, harassment, goading, 
took their own lives. The mothers sat in the front row, each holding a 
color photo, a school photo, of their kids. With tears in their eyes, 
they begged us to do something to protect these kids and to protect 
America from this exploitation.
  When I read about tragedies like the death of James Woods, it is 
clear: We shouldn't waste another minute. I believe that we should call 
this measure to the floor of the Senate immediately. There is no reason 
to wait. In fact, there is a danger if we do.

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  Let's see if the unanimous opinion of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee--Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals--can 
bring us to a bipartisan conclusion now. Wouldn't the American people 
be happy to hear that, that finally the Senate came together on a 
bipartisan basis to protect innocent children from sexploitation, from 
these child sexual abuse materials, and from the sort of situation that 
James Woods faced, the harassment, with no accountability for the 
social media platform?
  We need to move quickly to do this. There is no excuse. Let's not 
wait on some other measure. These are five good, strong bills that will 
say to the social media industry once and for all: You bear 
responsibility for what goes on. And when you are responsible for it, 
you can be held accountable in a court of law.
  Parents and victims can't do this on their own. They have learned 
that over and over. They need someone to help, and that would be the 
U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and the President. I 
hope every Member of the Senate will join us in protecting our kids 
from this new world of threats.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lujan). The Republican whip.