Congress Passes Bipartisan Bill Criminalizing Sextortion of Minors and Increasing Sentencing Penalties

New Federal Laws Criminalize Sextortion Targeting Minors·Latest event January 27, 2026

Mar 25

Congress Passes Bipartisan Bill Criminalizing Sextortion of Minors and Increasing Sentencing Penalties

H.R. 6719 has passed the House and is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate after being placed on the legislative calendar. If enacted, the law would empower federal prosecutors to seek an additional 10 years of prison time for predators who threaten to share a minor's private images to extort further explicit content.

Mar 1

Senate advances House bill criminalizing online sextortion to legislative calendar

The House-passed bill to criminalize online sextortion was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders.

H.R. 6719Congress Targets Online “Sextortion” by Making Threats to Share Minor Sexual Images a Federal Crime

Jan 26

Senator Moody introduces bill to criminalize child sextortion with federal penalties

Senator Moody introduced a companion bill to establish federal penalties for threatening to share explicit photos or videos of a child.

S. 3704Congress Proposes New Penalties to Stop Online Predators From Threatening Minors With Explicit Images

Dec 8, 2025

Senate Introduces Stop Sextortion Act to Criminalize Exploitation of Minors

The Stop Sextortion Act was introduced in the Senate to make it a federal crime to use child sexual abuse images for extortion or pressure.

S. 3398Congress targets child sextortion by criminalizing threats to share abuse images and boosting penalties

Dec 8, 2025

Bipartisan Bill Directs Sentencing Commission to Modernize Penalties for Child Sexual Abuse Material

Bipartisan legislation was introduced to direct the Sentencing Commission to update prison terms for child sexual abuse material to reflect modern technology.

S. 3394Bipartisan Bill Directs Sentencing Commission to Update Penalties for Child Sexual Abuse Material

The Facts

Policies

H.R. 6719 and S. 3704 are companion bills, representing the House and Senate versions of the same policy. S. 3398 and S. 3394 are separate but related bills that focus on increasing prison sentences and updating federal sentencing guidelines for child safety.

S. 3704

Congress Proposes New Penalties to Stop Online Predators From Threatening Minors With Explicit Images

Jan 27

H.R. 6719

Congress Targets Online “Sextortion” by Making Threats to Share Minor Sexual Images a Federal Crime

Jan 12

S. 3398

Congress targets child sextortion by criminalizing threats to share abuse images and boosting penalties

Dec 9

S. 3394

Bipartisan Bill Directs Sentencing Commission to Update Penalties for Child Sexual Abuse Material

Dec 9

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