Sponsors (14)
The bill strengthens federal protections and prosecution tools to deter and punish coercive online harms against minors, but does so with broad definitions and expanded federal reach that raise free‑speech, prosecutorial discretion, federalization, and transitional‑cost risks.
Children and minors are given a clearer federal criminal prohibition against being intentionally coerced into suicide, arson, doxxing, swatting, or violent acts, increasing legal protection and making it easier to hold abusers accountable.
Law enforcement and prosecutors gain clearer statutory definitions and cross‑references (e.g., for coercion, doxxing, swatting, child abuse/exploitation), which should streamline investigations and enable more effective cross‑jurisdictional prosecutions of online child exploitation.
Parents, families, and communities may face stronger deterrence because people who coerce children into dangerous or violent acts face substantial federal prison time, potentially reducing harmful online conduct aimed at minors.
Children, families, and the public could see ordinary or ambiguous online speech, pranks, or harassment become criminalized because broad definitions of 'coerce' and covered acts expand prosecutorial discretion and raise free‑speech risks.
People accused of online harassment (and taxpayers who fund prosecutions) risk severe federal penalties — including long sentences — that could be disproportionate or problematic in cases where intent is complex or ambiguous.
State and local governments, and federal courts, could see more routine cases federalized because jurisdiction extends where mail or interstate commerce is used, increasing federal caseloads and costs and shifting enforcement burdens.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federal crime banning intentional coercion of minors—via mail or interstate commerce—to harm themselves or others (including doxxing/swatting), and sets prison penalties up to life.
Creates a new federal crime that makes it illegal to intentionally coerce a minor—directly or through an intermediary—by mail or any means of interstate or foreign commerce to harm themselves or others, to kill or injure animals, to commit arson, or to perform specified online harms such as doxxing, swatting, or knowingly making false reports about an imminent threat. The measure defines key terms, sets prison and fine penalties (including life imprisonment for coercion that causes death or suicide), updates related child‑exploitation and criminal code cross‑references, and includes a severability clause.
Introduced December 9, 2025 by Charles Ernest Grassley · Last progress December 9, 2025