Stop Sextortion Act
Stop Sextortion Act Would Make Threatening to Share Child Abuse Images a Federal Crime
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Makes it a federal crime to threaten to share child sexual abuse images to scare, pressure, or extort someone.
- Covers situations where the person making the threat does not actually have the images, as long as they threaten to distribute them.
- Adds extra punishment in certain child exploitation and extortion-related crimes when child sexual abuse material is used to intimidate, coerce, extort, or cause major emotional harm.
- Raises maximum prison time by 10 years for certain offenses when they involve using child sexual abuse material to threaten or control a victim.
- Aims to give law enforcement clearer tools to go after sextortion schemes that target children and teens, including online threats.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
5 articles
House passes Laurel Lee legislation criminalizing 'sextortion'
The Combating Online Predators (COP) Act (HR 6719) cleared the chamber on a voice vote. If passed and signed, it will for the first time explicitly criminalize threats to distribute child sex abuse materials, closing a critical gap to protect children and deliver justice for victims.
How much will sextortion bill give parents and children relief in the future?
Lawmakers and parents are pushing the 'Combating Online Predators Act' and the 'Stop Sextortion Act' to help criminalize child sextortion after reports of the crime increased 7200% in recent years, leading to tragic outcomes for victims like 17-year-old James Woods.
Laurel Lee’s Combating Online Predators Act Passes Republican House Judiciary Committee
The Combating Online Predators Act strengthens federal law by explicitly criminalizing threats to distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM), also known as sextortion. Rep. Lee asserts that current laws fail to explicitly cover threats, allowing offenders to evade accountability.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Stop Sextortion Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
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