Senators came together across the aisle Thursday to move legislation meant to address gaps in the law around abuse and exploitation of children online. The Senate Judiciary Committee by voice vote approved a package related to crimes against children, including sections on sentencing guidelines for child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, threats to distribute such material and schemes to coerce children into violence. The panel combined three Senate bills as a manager’s amendment, adopted by unanimous consent, to a House-passed bill that would criminalize threats to distribute sexual depictions of a minor. The new package carries the name of James T. Woods, a teenager who died by suicide in 2022 after being the victim of online sexual extortion. Committee Chair Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, lauded the bipartisan nature of the package. Grassley sponsored the original bills, which were co-sponsored by the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill. Grassley also thanked Woods’ mother, Tamia Woods, who testified at a committee hearing in December. “What I've learned in my time here is that there is no greater love or advocate than mothers and fathers who've lost their children too soon. Mr. and Mrs. Woods’ … bravery in the face of unimaginable tragedy is inspiring, to say the least,” Grassley said. Durbin noted previous bills that had strong support in committee but did not move ahead on the Senate floor. “Let's make a bipartisan promise to do something about passing it on the floor. I think we ought to consider the possibility of meeting with not only the Republican leader, Sen. [John] Thune, but the Democratic leader, Sen. [Charles E.] Schumer, and tell them we want this to be a priority,” Durbin said. At the December hearing, the committee heard from a former federal prosecutor about the evolving nature of crimes against children and the necessity of updating guidelines to reflect gradations in severity of CSAM crimes. The hearing also featured a representative of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children who spoke about the rise of crimes against children for financial gain or nihilistic and sadistic motives. At that hearing, Grassley unveiled bills that would make it a crime to threaten to distribute sexual depictions of a minor even if such depictions do not exist, make it a crime to coerce a minor into violence against themselves or another person or animal and require the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements for crimes involving child sexual abuse material. Those bills were combined into the manager's amendment adopted Thursday. The House bill passed in that chamber in January on a voice vote. It had been forwarded by the House Judiciary Committee in December, along with bills that would make it a crime to compel a minor to harm themselves or others, including animals, through threats or extortion and would update child sexual abuse material statutes to make it a crime to include a minor in a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, even if the minor does not participate. Those bills also passed the House and were referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate committee vote comes as part of a renewed focus on child safety online. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has been working on a set of kids’ safety bills, including House versions of bills that would require social media platforms to address certain harms to minors and update data protections, including for older teenagers. Those bills advanced out of the committee's commerce panel in December.
