the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology (REPORT) Act, authored by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).
“In today’s technological age, children have become increasingly vulnerable to online sexual exploitation,” said Senator Blackburn. “There is an urgent need to address loopholes in reporting these crimes and to equip the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and law enforcement with the resources they need to adequately respond. I thank Senator Ossoff for his bipartisan partnership in this effort, and I look forward to the REPORT Act’s swift passage out of the House and to the President’s desk.”
“Our bipartisan bill will ensure tech companies are held accountable to report and remove child sex abuse material and to strengthen protection for kids online,” said Senator Ossoff. “At a time of such division in Congress, we brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass this urgent legislation to protect kids on the internet.”
- The REPORT Act is endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), International Justice Mission (IJM), ECPAT-USA, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Fraternal Order of Police, ChildFund International, the End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OSEAC) Coalition, Wired Human, and Raven.
“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) applauds the hard work by Senator Blackburn, Senator Ossoff, and all the Senate co-sponsors to pass the REPORT Act,” said Michelle DeLaune, NCMEC President & CEO. “Last year NCMEC’s CyberTipline received over 32 million reports containing more than 88 million images/videos and other content concerning child sexual exploitation, and the volume of online child sexual exploitation continues to exponentially rise. We look forward to continuing our work with Senator Blackburn and Senator Ossoff to ensure the safety of children online, and we encourage House Leadership to join the fight and bring the REPORT Act to the floor for a vote.”
