Tampa Republic

Washington, D.C. – Recently, Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-FL) introduced H.R. 5082, the Revising Existing Procedures On Reporting via Technology (REPORT) Act to help end the online exploitation of children. The original cosponsors of the bipartisan bill include Reps. Susie Lee (D-NV-03), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-01), and Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04).

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children, allowing electronic communication service providers to make reports of activities such as child sex trafficking, enticement of children for sexual acts, and unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child.

“Today, more and more children are using technology which has unfortunately made them vulnerable to exploitation by online predators. The REPORT Act will help fight against the exploitation of children online by strengthening existing reporting procedures and requiring companies to disclose crimes involving child sexual abuse to NCMEC,” said Rep. Laurel Lee. “I am proud to champion this bipartisan legislation that will help law enforcement quickly identify and prosecute perpetrators to protect our children from threats online."

The bipartisan bill would provide much needed reforms to the CyberTipline, such as:

• Adding sex trafficking of children and enticement crimes to reporting obligations by websites and social media platforms
• Increasing penalties for failure to report exploitative content (fines up to $850,000)
• Requires websites and social media platforms to report violations of federal trafficking and enticement
• Increases the time evidence that has been submitted to the CyberTipline is preserved by websites and social media platforms to give law enforcement more time to investigate and prosecute.

“Nevada has one of the highest rates of human trafficking in the nation, and a sickening number of those crimes involve children,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “We must have zero tolerance for those who target innocent children for abuse. That’s why we need critical tools like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline to use the most state-of-the-art technology, alongside robust reporting requirements and serious penalties. I’m proud to work with Congresswoman Laurel Lee to introduce this bipartisan legislation to protect our children, crack down on human trafficking, and hold those accountable who turn a blind eye to these sickening crimes.”

“We must create a safe environment for children to access the internet without fear of exploitation,” said Congresswoman Miller-Meeks. “I am proud to support the REPORT Act, which strengthens policies that shield children from unwanted and coerced interactions online.”

“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is proud to support the Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology (REPORT) Act and thanks Rep. Laurel Lee, Rep. Madeleine Dean, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Rep. Susie Lee for their leadership in introducing this critically needed legislation.  The volume of online child sexual exploitation continues to rise exponentially, and last year NCMEC’s CyberTipline received over 32 million reports containing more than 88 million images/videos and other content concerning child sexual exploitation,” said Michelle DeLaune, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). “The REPORT Act will modernize how CyberTipline data is handled by NCMEC and investigated by law enforcement; enable minors to report sexually exploitative content in which they are depicted to NCMEC; modernize efforts to identify child victims and maintain CyberTipline reports; and facilitate law enforcement investigations by extending retention time for information reported to the CyberTipline from 90 days to one year. NCMEC is proud to support the REPORT Act, and we look forward to continuing our work with Representatives Laurel Lee, Madeleine Dean, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Susie Lee to see this timely legislation become law.”

“Online sexual exploitation of children is a global crime, demanding a global response by government, civil society, the private sector, and survivor leaders. Of the 32 million reports that the CyberTipline received in 2022, nearly 90% resolved to locations outside of the U.S. The sheer volume of reports consistently outpaces law enforcement’s capacity to respond, especially in the Global South. International Justice Mission (IJM) has firsthand experience working alongside under-resourced law enforcement partners in response to this challenge,” said John Tanagho, Executive Director of IJM’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children. “Together with NCMEC, IJM’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children provides specialized training that builds capacity for investigators to access, review, and act on CyberTipline reports through NCMEC’s Case Management Tool. The REPORT Act will give law enforcement much needed time to triage and respond to CyberTipline reports. Critically, the REPORT Act will also improve the quality of reports ESPs submit, which can have a downstream impact of more victims identified and arrests made.”

“Over the years NCMEC has discussed an electronic submission as a solution for the CVIP process. This idea and concept really excited investigators who felt like this has been needed for some time. Unfortunately, it’s been years since the initial discussion, and we are still left with the mail in option. Most investigators don’t trust this option and they also view the process as time consuming in an already overtasked and overburdened field of work. As a result, we know that our submission numbers aren’t where they should be and we are missing out on the opportunity to help investigators everywhere,” said Detective Sergeant Chris King, North Florida ICAC Task Force Commander, Gainesville Police Department.

Earlier this year, Congresswoman Laurel Lee introduced the bipartisan National Human Trafficking Hotline Enhancement Act alongside Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) following a letter from 36 attorneys general to Congress expressing their outrage that the Hotline is not reporting human trafficking tips to law enforcement unless the victim self-reports, disrupting the federal-state partnership to end human trafficking. Read the full letter here.

Click here to read the bipartisan Revising Existing Procedures On Reporting via Technology (REPORT) Act.

Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) And Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the REPORT Act in the Senate.

Original source can be found here.