Austin News

The Senate has passed the PROTECT Our Children Act, a bill aimed at reauthorizing and modernizing the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program. This legislation is backed by U.S. Senators John Cornyn, Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley, and Dick Durbin, along with Representatives Nathaniel Moran and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Senator Cornyn emphasized the importance of this program in safeguarding children from exploitation: "By extending and modernizing this program, our bill would help put vicious criminals behind bars and safeguard our next generation." Senator Blumenthal highlighted the urgency of addressing child sexual abuse crimes: "Protecting such victims is urgent and imperative—and we have an obligation to provide tools and resources necessary to do it."

Senator Hawley pointed out the significant threat posed by technology and the internet: "The PROTECT Our Children Act gives law enforcement the resources, assistance, and infrastructure they need to combat child sexual exploitation." Senator Durbin stressed that child safety should extend to virtual spaces as well: "I’m pleased that our legislation...passed the U.S. Senate."

Representative Moran underscored the critical nature of combating these crimes: "It is imperative that we combat these heinous crimes...and protect vulnerable children from online predators nationwide." Representative Wasserman Schultz noted past successes while calling for continued efforts: "Technology evolves rapidly, so we have to move just as fast to make the internet a safe space for children."

The ICAC Task Force Program aids state and local law enforcement in responding effectively to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation. It includes forensic investigations, training, victim services, and community education. Since its inception in 1998, ICAC Task Forces have trained over 826,700 professionals and reviewed more than 1.45 million reports of online child exploitation.

The new act will update requirements for national strategies against child exploitation, provide liability protection for task forces during investigations of abuse material, improve statutory text to align with current needs, focus on both proactive and reactive investigations, and reauthorize funding through 2027.

The bill has received endorsements from various organizations including NCOSE, RAINN, National Children's Alliance among others.