Bringing critical child safety conversations to Capitol Hill

Technology keeps changing, with every new evolution creating opportunities for misuse to harm young people. The systems made to protect children need to keep up. That concern recently brought Thorn to Washington, D.C., for conversations about how to respond to online child sexual abuse through federal legislation. 

On Wednesday, September 16, Thorn CEO Julie Cordua joined Tim Tebow, founder of the Tim Tebow Foundation; Michelle DeLaune, president and CEO of NCMEC; and Gary Haugen, CEO of IJM, for several member-level meetings in Congress.

The visit centered on the STOP CSAM Act, a bipartisan bill that Thorn supports. The legislation covers CyberTipline reporting, platform transparency, civil remedies for survivors, and protections for victims in federal cases.

Our meetings on Capitol Hill also delved into how the online world keeps changing for youth. We discussed new and emerging harms that children face online today, and the important — and narrow — role that detection technology can play in identifying illegal child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 

Keeping children and survivors at the center

Child safety legislation can get complicated quickly. Bills currently being considered at the federal level address a range of topics, including strengthening reporting systems, updating federal statutes, addressing the role of platforms, and managing new technologies and harm types. But every one of these legislative efforts, including the STOP CSAM Act, which we focused on last week, is ultimately about protecting children. 

When child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is shared and continues to circulate online, survivors feel the effects of abuse long after the original event. That reality guides Thorn’s approach to this work.

The organizations that went to Washington come at this challenge from different angles. Each brings knowledge from a different part of the child protection system. Coming together gave us a chance to share those views with policymakers and align around one critical piece of legislation. 

Thorn’s takeaways from the Capitol Hill meetings

Reflecting on last week’s meetings, we were encouraged to hear legislators acknowledge that Congress has a critical role to play when it comes to protecting children from online exploitation. While there is still more work to be done to ensure the STOP CSAM Act passes into law this year, these meetings were a necessary step.

Additionally, last week’s meetings were an important opportunity to discuss the specific role that detection technology can play when it comes to CSAM. At Thorn, we know that equipping policymakers with technical understanding is a necessary step towards confronting online child sexual exploitation and abuse head-on. Our visit to Washington, D.C. was one chance to bring that information into the conversation. 

Learn more about the STOP CSAM Act, including its current status in both chambers and its Senate and House co-sponsors here and here, respectively. To get involved, find your local Members of Congress here.