[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 8 (Monday, January 12, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H632-H634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COERCION AND SEXUAL ABUSE FREE ENVIRONMENT ACT
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 6732) to prohibit unlawful coercion of a minor, and
for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6732
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Coercion and Sexual Abuse
Free Environment Act'' or the ``CSAFE Act''.
SEC. 2. UNLAWFULLY COMPELLING CHILDREN.
(a) In General.--Section 2422 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c)(1) Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means
of interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,
intentionally compels a minor to--
``(A) engage in self-harm, including suicide or attempted
suicide;
``(B) commit animal crushing (as defined in section 48);
``(C) engage in abusive or degrading nonsexual conduct
(whether or not physical injury results) for which any person
can be charged with a criminal offense; or
``(D) engage in sexually explicit conduct, as defined in
section 2256(2)(A),
shall be punished as provided in paragraph (2).
``(2) Whoever violates, attempts to violate, or conspires
to violate paragraph (1)--
``(A) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more
than 10 years, or both;
``(B) if serious bodily injury results, shall be fined
under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both;
or
``(C) if death results, shall be fined under this title,
imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both.
``(3) In this subsection, the term `compel' includes the
use of a threat, extortion, blackmail, fraud, deceit, or
manipulation.''.
(b) Juvenile Delinquency Conforming Amendment.--Section
5032 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking
``or 2241(c),'' and inserting ``2241(c), or 2242(c),''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Biggs) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
General Leave
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and to insert extraneous material on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the horror of child abuse and exploitation online
continues to remain a significant problem across the country.
The Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance made
combating child exploitation a top priority in the 118th Congress, and
we continue to do so in the 119th Congress.
Unfortunately, criminals are continuously finding new ways to force
minors to commit sexual or violent acts against themselves or others.
Violent online networks are methodically targeting vulnerable
underage populations across the United States. These violent groups,
often known as gore groups, target children and force them into
unthinkable acts of violence against themselves, against others, and
even against animals.
These groups use social media or other popular platforms such as
Roblox or Discord to elicit private information or sexual images from
minors, and they use that information and that material to blackmail
victims into mutilating themselves or taking other violent action
against friends, family members, or pets.
Many of these networks rapidly emerge, create alliances, and then
quickly dissolve, making it difficult to determine leadership
structure. Many criminal actors are located overseas, and many of these
offenders are also minors themselves.
The most prominent example is the online extremist network known as
764. Mr. Speaker, 764 is a decentralized online network that glorifies
violence and encourages participation in criminal activities such as
sextortion and doxing. A disturbed young man, who has since been
arrested and jailed, started the 764 network in 2020.
While decentralized, the group has grown into a vast array of online
predators seemingly in a dark competition of who can manipulate
children to commit the most violent acts.
In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,
NCMIC,
[[Page H633]]
Cyber Tipline, the Nation's centralized reporting system for the online
abuse and exploitation of minors, received more than 1,300 reports of
exploitation with a connection to a violent online group. By August of
2025, NCMIC had already received more than 1,000 similar reports.
A law enforcement officer stated of these groups: ``If you can get
someone to self-harm, you are doing quite well in that group. If you
can get them to kill themselves, you are reaching the pinnacle.''
In April 2025, the FBI Richmond field office shared a public
information video warning parents about a ``new threat to kids'
safety.'' According to former Deputy Director Dan Bongino, the FBI has
more than 300 active investigations into these groups, and that number
continues to grow, but they were having difficulty preparing for
prosecution because of gaps in our law.
I applaud the FBI for taking crucial steps to both raise awareness of
this issue and hold predators accountable. However, more tools are
needed from Congress to ensure that these heinous individuals are
prosecuted.
The conduct of groups such as the 764 network do not always fit
neatly into existing criminal statutes, which potentially jeopardizes
prosecutions.
The Coercion and Sexual Abuse Free Environment Act, CSAFE,
criminalizes compelling or enticing a minor to engage in self-harm,
engage in animal crushing, or to commit acts of self-mutilation or
self-branding.
We can all find common ground with this commonsense legislation.
These are grotesque crimes that must be prosecuted to the fullest
extent.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
commend both sides of the aisle for working on this legislation. It is
my hope and fondest wish that we pass this bill out of this House
today, get it to the Senate, and get it up to the President for signing
and enactment.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1630
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 6732, the CSAFE Act, which creates a new
crime to prohibit people from compelling children into physically
harming themselves or animals.
Coercing kids online to hurt themselves or others is spreading harm
that all of us need to take seriously. We have seen an alarming rise in
episodes of this in recent years, and it has become clear that there is
no Federal statute that effectively addresses this extreme misconduct.
Violent online groups have emerged on popular platforms geared toward
children and teenagers. These groups, and individuals acting alone,
encourage kids to commit horrifying acts, including cutting themselves,
creating child sex abuse material, sexually exploiting other children,
harming animals, swatting, doxing, and, in the most extreme cases,
taking their own lives.
This happened to Jay Taylor, a 13-year-old who was struggling with an
eating disorder, gender identity problems, and a sense of isolation. He
found a connection on the online platform Discord. Members of 764, an
online network that targets and exploits vulnerable young people, got
their hooks into him and devastatingly coerced Jay into taking his own
life while live-streaming.
The FBI agents who worked on his case repeatedly encountered
roadblocks while attempting to get prosecutors to file charges in the
case, with one U.S. attorney telling the agents that it simply was not
possible to do anything.
The bill before us now, the CSAFE Act, seeks to address the
shortcomings in existing Federal criminal law when it comes to
investigating cases and prosecuting criminals who coerce and extort
children online.
I thank the chairman for working with me to address some of the
constitutional concerns I raised at our committee's markup of this
legislation back in December of last year. I am very pleased to support
this bill today, which I think is legally seaworthy and will survive
any constitutional challenges.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lee).
Ms. LEE of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of
H.R. 6732, the Coercion and Sexual Abuse Free Environment Act, and I
thank my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) for his leadership on this
critical issue.
Madam Speaker, as technology advances, so do the tactics of predators
who seek to harm our children. Current Federal statutes were not
written with this kind of remote, organized, and coercive abuse in
mind. When the law lags behind the tactics of predators, Congress has
an obligation to act.
We are now confronting a deeply disturbing trend in which organized
online networks target vulnerable minors, manipulate them through fear
and blackmail, and coerce them into committing acts of violence against
themselves, others, or even animals.
These online groups use mainstream platforms to gain access to
children, extract personal information or images, and then weaponize
that material.
The result is severe psychological coercion and abuse--children
forced into self-mutilation, cruelty to animals, or even suicide, all
at the direction of anonymous criminals who often operate across
borders and behind ever-changing online identities.
Our laws must be able to meet this threat head-on. H.R. 6732 does
exactly that. This bill modernizes Federal criminal law by clearly
criminalizing the coercion or enticement of a minor to engage in self-
harm, animal crushing, or other abusive or degrading conduct.
This legislation closes dangerous gaps in current law and sends an
unmistakable message: Compelling a child to destroy themselves or to
harm others is child abuse. It is criminal, and it will be prosecuted.
Madam Speaker, protecting children is one of Congress' most solemn
responsibilities. H.R. 6732 is a necessary, targeted, and responsible
response to a real and growing threat.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Georgia (Mrs. McBath).
Mrs. McBATH. Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member of the
Judiciary Committee for yielding.
I rise today in support of H.R. 6732, the Coercion and Sexual Abuse
Free Environment Act, or, as we all call it, the CSAFE Act.
As technology has become more sophisticated, online threats against
children have become more complicated, malicious, and sometimes deadly.
The harm has moved beyond just simple bullying. Today, groups of
people online, like the so-called 764 network, seek out and coerce
vulnerable kids to photograph, record, or live stream acts of violence
or self-harm to the world.
Take, for example, a horrific case that happened just last summer on
the online platform Roblox. Several people associated with 764 located
in Tennessee allegedly used the platform to entice a 13-year-old,
located hundreds of miles away in New Jersey, to carve the initials of
each person into her leg and send the group pictures and videos of her
self-inflicted wounds.
According to the criminal complaint, the content was shared with the
leader of the 764 group, or the so-called boss, so that the
perpetrators could become full-fledged members of the group.
Mind you, Roblox is a massive online platform that actually allows
users to design, create, and play millions of different games. With
roughly half of its user base being under the age of 13, the platform
is used by nearly 90 million children every day and has repeatedly been
found to be at the top of its class in safety features.
Just imagine the potential harm that could be inflicted on our
children on platforms and websites that have subpar safety features.
Let's be clear. State and Federal prosecutors have brought charges in
these types of cases. For example, on November 20, 2025, the Department
of Justice announced that a grand jury returned an indictment charging
a 20-year-old man in Maryland, who identifies himself as a member of
the 764 group, with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child,
three counts of
[[Page H634]]
coercion and enticement of a child, and one count of cyberstalking.
Still, there is no law that specifically prohibits the coercion of
children to inflict harm on themselves or others, which sometimes makes
it hard for prosecutors to pursue these charges.
The CSAFE Act is meant to fill in the gaps in our Federal law by
creating a new crime that prohibits individuals from compelling,
attempting to compel, or conspiring to compel children into physically
harming themselves, others, or animals.
{time} 1640
While the original bill considered by the Judiciary Committee raised
several constitutional concerns, I am pleased to see that this bill
before us today includes several improvements that address the concerns
that we raised during our bill markup.
As the internet and online platforms continue to evolve and create
new challenges that we have to deal with every single day, it is our
job as policymakers to be responsive to those challenges, ensuring that
these seemingly benign tools are not used for nefarious purposes. We
must also make sure that our criminal justice system is capable of
holding to account those who dare to exploit these platforms and these
tools and prey on our children and cause harm to others.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues in this body to support
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris).
Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, bad actors often prey on
the most vulnerable: our children. It is our job to stand up for them.
That is why I rise today in support of the Coercion and Sexual Abuse
Free Environment Act introduced by my colleague and friend, Chairman
Andy Biggs.
This bill will ensure accountability for anyone who intentionally
compels a minor to engage in self-harm or other degrading acts. As
child abuse continues in this country and takes many forms, prosecutors
must have the proper tools to go after these predators.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Coercion and
Sexual Abuse Free Environment Act.
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. I have no further speakers, Madam Speaker. I will just
restate my strong support for this legislation. I thank the
distinguished gentleman from Arizona for bringing it forward. It is
certainly a lot more fun to be with him on legislation than against him
on legislation, and I am delighted we were able to work on this
bipartisan bill together.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Raskin
for his helpful suggestions that will make this bill much better and
has made it much better. I thank Ranking Member McBath for her support
as well.
It is our desire to bring these malevolent-hearted people who are
filled with evil and criminal intention to justice and to protect our
children.
Madam Speaker, I urge the swift passage of this bill out of the House
and the Senate and to get it signed and enacted, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Malliotakis.) The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6732, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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