Senate subcommittee hears bipartisan push to strengthen law on child sexual abuse material, platform reporting and takedown

Senator Josh Hawley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, opened the hearing by urging Congress to give child victims greater legal recourse and platform accountability. "It is time to allow victims to have their day in court," Hawley said, describing legislation he and others support to expand victims' rights, strengthen reporting to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and create a process to take down and prevent republishing of CSAM.

The hearing presented data from witnesses and survivor testimony to explain why lawmakers say new rules are needed. Michelle DeLon, president and chief executive officer of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, told the subcommittee that reporting to NCMEC’s cyber tip line rose to 36,200,000 reports in 2023 and fell to 20,500,000 in 2024; when adjusted for reporting “bundling” the organization estimates about 29,200,000 incidents in 2024 and a net decrease of about 7,000,000 reports that year. DeLon said platforms’ inconsistent reporting and changes such as end‑to‑end encryption on some services contribute to gaps and called for statutory minimum reporting details and transparency requirements.

Witnesses described proposed…