[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 9, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8562-S8564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Unanimous Consent Request--S. 1829
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am going to raise a different issue on
the floor, and I am going to be joined in that issue by the cosponsor
of the legislation, Senator Hawley of Missouri. So I will speak to the
measure and then defer to him and then make a motion, which I believe
the Senator from Oregon Senator Wyden is going to respond to.
Mr. President, I come to the floor today to ask the Senate to pass
the STOP CSAM Act, bipartisan legislation that would finally open the
courthouse doors to survivors of child exploitation and their families.
Too many parents in America live in fear every time their child logs
into a phone, a tablet, or video game console. They know the internet
has, unfortunately, become a hunting ground for predators of children.
Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee learned more about the
horrors facing our children online, and we heard from one of those
families.
Three years ago, 17-year-old James Woods--an honor student, an
accomplished track athlete from the State of Ohio--died by suicide
after being targeted by predators on Instagram. We asked his mother
today: How long did this relationship online last?
She said: Start to finish--the finish was the end of her son's life--
19 hours.
They tricked James into sending them sexually explicit photos, and
they threatened to ruin his life if he didn't pay them to destroy the
photos. His tormentors sent him 200 messages in 19 hours, encouraging,
finally, that he end his life, which he ultimately did.
In January 2022, 13-year-old Jay Taylor--an artistic, compassionate
child from the State of Washington, gifted in math--died by suicide
after being targeted by predators on Discord. Jay was pursued by a
group who used Discord to bully him into taking his own life, which was
live-streamed for his abusers to watch.
These are two examples of cruelty and danger for kids that they can
encounter on online platforms. How do we do something to stop this?
In 2014, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, called
NCMEC, received 1.1 million cyber tips of child sexual abuse material,
known as CSAM. By 2023, less than 10 years later, the number of cyber
tips have exploded to 36 million--from 1 million to 36 million--and
every one of those reports represents a child harmed, exploited, and
degraded.
As I have heard and learned more about the horrors of online child
sexual exploitation, I have made it my mission to try to put an end to
it. That is why I worked with survivors, prosecutors, law enforcement,
victim advocates, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to write
a bill that responds with the urgency this situation demands. The bill
is called STOP CSAM. The lead sponsor, beginning this year, is Senator
Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, and the cosponsor is Durbin,
Democrat of Illinois. I would like to thank Senator Hawley for being
the lead sponsor who voted unanimously with the Judiciary Committee to
advance this bill last year.
And I want to recognize the extraordinary survivors and advocates who
continue to make this legislation possible by their impassioned pleas.
Unfortunately, due to Big Tech's deep pockets, it has not been easy to
pass a law to finally hold the tech industry accountable for the harms
they cause.
Ask any parent or child walking around holding a cell phone if they
are worried about what is going on, on that cell phone, and I will tell
you they are. They hope that their children are doing the right things
and not being lured into a trap by somebody on the other end of the
line. The same thing, of course, is true with computers.
So when STOP CSAM didn't pass the Senate last year, Senator Hawley
and I were determined to bring it up this year.
Because Big Tech has failed to take the steps to keep kids safe when
they are online, it is imperative that Congress do something for the
parents and the children who are victims.
The STOP CSAM Act takes a comprehensive approach to stemming online
childhood exploitation. Most significantly, it creates accountability.
It pierces the broad immunity granted to Big Tech by section 230 of the
Communications Decency Act.
I can't think of another element of our economy that is free from any
worry of being sued. If you drive in a haphazard and reckless way, you
will be held responsible. But when it comes to this industry, they
conduct their business with little or no regard for the victims. They
are immune from responsibility under section 230.
STOP CSAM, which we bring to the floor today, changes it. It does one
simple thing: It allows the victims to sue tech platforms and app
stores that promote or aid and abet online child sex exploitation.
Survivors deserve a day in court. I just guarantee you, if there is
civil liability on the line here, the industry is going to change and
rework their online offerings to protect children. Right now, they
could give a darn.
STOP CSAM also forces transparency onto Big Tech by requiring the
companies to submit annual reports describing their efforts to protect
children. This is more than a box-checking exercise. This bill requires
providers to disclose concrete steps they are taking to protect
children.
We have all seen the headlines. We all know the worry. Tech companies
promise to improve but only repeat the same conduct over and over again
at the expense of children.
Last year, half of all cyber tips provided by tech companies included
insufficient information to be actionable by law enforcement. Civil
liability will change that.
The STOP CSAM Act passed unanimously out of the subcommittee this
summer. That unanimity is no accident. It reflects an understanding of
what we need to do to protect children.
I am honored to have as my colleague in this effort Senator Josh
Hawley of Missouri, and I yield the floor to him.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Durbin for his
incredible leadership on this issue. It is truly a privilege to partner
with him on this effort.
And I just want to say that the premise of this bill is very simple.
It is simply this: that our children are not safe online. And I know
that because the statistics tell the story. Just looking at the number
of reports of child
[[Page S8563]]
sex abuse material online the last year for which we have full data,
the number of images, sexually abusive images online surged to 104
million. Think about that--104 million reported sexually abusive
images. That is up from merely 450,000 as early as 2004. In the space
of 20 years, we have seen an explosion of sexual abuse material online.
The data does not lie. Our children are not safe. But I also know it
because whistleblowers tell us. The experts from these companies tell
us the truth. I will never forget sitting in the Senate Judiciary
Committee and listening to whistleblowers from Meta talk about the
steps their company had taken to target their products toward children.
And I asked one of these whistleblowers: How many kids who come to your
platform would you estimate are exposed to child sex abuse material?
She thought for a moment, and then she said: I would say 100 percent.
I said: Wait a minute. A hundred percent? One hundred percent?
She said: Every child who gets on a Meta platform--whether it is
virtual reality, whether it is Instagram, whether it is Facebook
itself--every child who is on that platform for any length of time will
be exposed to child sex abuse material, every single child.
The tech companies themselves tell us, but I also know our kids
aren't safe online because I am a father of three children. My oldest
is 13 now. I have got a 10-year-old and a 5-year-old. And my kids don't
have devices. They don't have phones, and I am going to keep it that
way as long as I possibly can. But I tell you what, my wife and I every
day worry about what our children will be exposed to online.
And I have listened to parent after parent come before this body,
take an oath, and testify about the ordeals their own children have
been through.
Another employee at Meta testified about his own child--a daughter--
who signed up for an Instagram account and almost immediately was
bombarded by predators and sex abusers looking at her images, direct
messaging her, soliciting her for various sexual acts. It caused him to
ask himself: What are we doing at these tech companies? Is there no
amount of decency? Is there no respect for the basic privacy and
security of our children? Our children are not safe online.
And I also want to say that this bill is based on another important
principle, a simple one, which is that no amount of corporate profit
justifies the exploitation of our children. All the Big Tech companies
are rich beyond belief. They are the wealthiest companies, the richest,
biggest companies, not just in America, not just in the world, but in
the history of the world.
But I just want to say that no amount of money justifies subjecting
our children to sexual abuse. No amount of money justifies
``sextortion'' of children on these platforms.
I don't care what Facebook's market cap is today or tomorrow. I don't
care how much money Google makes next quarter. It does not justify the
degradation of American children, not now, not ever. And this body has
a moral obligation to stand for that principle and to vindicate it for
every parent and every child in America. It is why we are here. It is
our obligation and our responsibility, and that is what this bill does.
This is a very simple bill, as Senator Durbin described. It simply
allows the victims of sex abuse material or their parents to get into
court and to make their case against these companies. And it is not
unfair to the companies. The companies are held to a very simple
standard: Did they knowingly or recklessly host this content?
Now, let me just say this: We all know that these companies will
deploy algorithms to the end of the Earth in order to target our kids,
in order to advertise to our kids. They know every detail. Every
scintilla of action that occurs on their platforms, they know about it
because they are making money off of it.
And yet when we bring them before this body and put them under oath,
the executives of these companies say: Oh, we couldn't possibly get rid
of all the CSAM, all the sex abuse material. We just don't have the
technology for it.
Oh, yes, they do. They do. But they don't want to root out the CSAM
because they are making money on it because sex material online drives
engagement online, which drives more eyeballs online, which drives
advertising dollars online, and that is what they care most about.
It is time to give victims and parents the rights that every other
American has, which is to get into court and to have their day in court
and to protect their children.
This bill doesn't touch encryption. It doesn't destroy privacy
rights. It protects all of those things, but, above all, it protects
children. It protects our children online, and it is long overdue.
I will just finish with this: I wish I could persuade my colleague,
who I think will soon object, to agree with us on this, but I certainly
respect his view. The scandal is not that 1 or 2 or 10 or 20 Senators
would take a different point of view. That is fine. The real scandal
here is this bill cannot get a vote on the floor of this Senate. It
passed unanimously--not once but twice out of committee--unanimously
out of the Judiciary Committee of the United States.
Now, for years in a row, it can't get so much as a vote on the floor
of the Senate. That is why Senator Durbin is here today. That is why I
am here today. That is a scandal. It is absolutely indefensible.
I haven't heard a word of explanation, but I know the reason. The
reason is the Big Tech companies are opposed to it, and the reason for
that is the Big Tech companies would lose money. And they will spend no
amount of money--there will be no limit to what they would spend to
stop legislation that they don't want from moving on this floor.
It is time this body demonstrated its independence. It is time to
demonstrate our loyalty to the people who put us here, not the
corporations that write the checks and call the shots and run the TV
ads and make their threats of their campaign contributions.
It is enough of that. It doesn't say ``We the corporations'' in our
Constitution. It says ``We the People.'' It is time for the people to
have their say. It is time for this body to vindicate their rights. It
is time for us to vote on this bill.
I yield to the Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority whip.
Mr. DURBIN. In a few minutes, we made the case. When a conservative
Missouri Republican and a progressive Illinois Democrat can agree on a
measure this important to the families of America, I think it is a
unique message.
How many times are we told back home: For God's sake, stop playing
politics. If you must, compromise, but get something done.
And, certainly, protecting our children is the highest possible
priority.
These measures, as Senator Hawley alluded to, passed unanimously out
of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Trust me, the 20-plus members of
that committee span the political spectrum. They all voted for these
measures. That is why we bring them to the floor.
For those who are following the debate, we are going to have a voice
vote pretty soon, I assume. The question is going to be, Are we going
to pass this or not? You are going to hear me make a motion. Then, I
believe the Senator from Oregon is going to seek recognition. I will
make the motion as to whether we should pass the measure we just
described.
Here is the motion. As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous
consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of
Calendar No. 106, S. 1829; further, I ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported substitute be considered and agreed to, and that the
bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and that
the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there an objection?
The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. WYDEN. Reserving the right to object, I don't often disagree with
my friend and longtime colleague from Illinois, and I very much share
the stated goals of the STOP CSAM Act. Child sexual abuse material is a
toxic plague on the internet. There are real victims who need support
and criminals who have to be hunted down and locked up. I don't take a
back seat to anybody when it comes to helping kids and punishing
predators.
[[Page S8564]]
Last Congress, Senator Durbin and I compromised on a different
version of this bill and agreed to let that version pass by unanimous
consent.
Let me say that again. Last Congress, we reached agreement on a
version of this bill that could have passed unanimously.
Today, to my regret, the sponsors have chosen to abandon those
negotiations and instead are seeking to advance what I consider to be a
dangerous bill that would make internet users unsafe. That is because
the bill would weaken the single strongest technology that protects
kids and families online. That is strong encryption. It will make it
easier to punish sites using encryption to secure private conversations
and personal devices.
While STOP CSAM sponsors claim that their bill does not target
encryption, the bill explicitly allows courts to punish companies that
offer strong encryption. It also would encourage scanning of content on
users' phones or computers before information is sent over the
internet, which has, in my view, the same consequences as breaking
encryption.
Weakening encryption and other security technologies is the single
biggest gift that can be given to the predators and dangerous criminals
who want to stalk and spy on kids. Sexual predators will have a far
easier time stealing and extorting photographs of children, tracking
their phones, and spying on their private messages when encryption is
breached.
Doing so threatens the privacy and security of every single law-
abiding American.
I heard some talk about who supports the bill. Let me tell you who
supports the bill. It is Big Tech. Google and X have endorsed that. Let
me repeat that. Google and X have endorsed this bill. It is the
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and the American Civil Liberties
Union who oppose it.
This is really about who are you for. I am here for women who depend
on encryption to seek reproductive healthcare information. I am here
for journalists reporting on sensitive stories in places where their
messages could be intercepted and used against them. I am here for kids
and teenagers seeking information about immigration laws as Donald
Trump continues a brutal crackdown.
The key to better protecting kids online is to do what is effective,
not what only sounds effective. Congress ought to focus our energy on
giving law enforcement officials the tools they need to find and
prosecute criminals responsible for exploiting children and spreading
vile abuse materials online and to help prevent children from becoming
victims in the first place. I repeatedly have given that support to
prosecutors and law enforcement officials to do more to protect kids
from being exploited.
I remain open to revisiting conversations with the bill's sponsors to
get back to a version that doesn't make the internet less safe. We did
find a compromise in the last Congress, and I want to say to my
longtime friend Senator Durbin and my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle that I am willing to work together to find another such
compromise.
I urge, for example, my colleagues to support my bipartisan Invest in
Kids' Safety Act, which I will shortly reintroduce. The bill would
direct $5 billion in mandatory funding to do three things: one, give
law enforcement agencies the tools and personnel they need to catch the
predators who create and spread CSAM; two, fund community-based
programs to prevent at-risk kids from becoming victims in the first
place; and three, invest in programs to support survivors of abuse. Any
legislation that doesn't include those pieces is missing the point, and
that is why I object today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
The Senator from Florida.