PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025

This bill renews and updates the national effort to prevent and stop child exploitation, especially online. It keeps a national strategy but updates it every four years instead of every two, and requires it to cover trends (including new technology), clear goals, how agencies and courts will work together, what resources are needed across federal and local teams, and data on investigations, arrests, and outcomes .

It strengthens the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program. The program’s work now clearly includes finding child victims, and it can keep building on existing task forces; grant decisions must consider a task force’s track record. Task forces decide how to prioritize tips, and they are protected from lawsuits over those choices unless they act intentionally wrong or with reckless disregard that risks physical harm. Partners expand to include Tribal and military law enforcement, and judges get education on links between family abuse and online crimes and how offenders operate. The bill clarifies duties to follow leads, including CyberTipline reports, to investigate, seek prosecution, and find victims, with prioritization set by each task force. It makes the national ICAC data system optional (not required) and updates its advisory group. At least 20% of funds must support ICAC training, technology tools, research, an annual national training event, and wellness training. It authorizes $70M in 2026, $80M in 2027, and $90M in 2028. It also removes an older section on adding more regional computer forensic labs. Finally, it adjusts reporting requirements for online providers that report suspected child exploitation content .

Key points

• Who is affected: Children and families; ICAC task forces and law enforcement at the federal, State, Tribal, local, and military levels; federal agencies like the FBI, HSI, Marshals Service, Secret Service, Postal Service, and DoD investigators; judges; and online providers .
• What changes: National strategy updated every four years with detailed goals and data; stronger focus on finding child victims; liability shield for ICAC prioritization decisions (with exceptions for intentional or reckless misconduct); broader partnerships and judge education; national ICAC data system becomes optional; at least 20% of funds dedicated to training, tools, research, and wellness; removal of the old provision on regional forensic labs; updates to provider reporting rules .
• When: Funding levels apply to fiscal years 2026–2028; the national strategy moves to a four‑year cycle .