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Strengthens federal protections for child victims of sexual exploitation and child pornography, expands reporting and preservation duties for online providers, creates new civil and criminal causes of action against platforms and apps that host or promote such content, and authorizes court-managed trust accounts and limited funding to hold restitution for victims. It also protects victim privacy in court, tightens restitution rules and enforcement, requires annual accountability reports from large providers, and preserves other federal, state, and tribal remedies for victims.
Replaces the text of subsection (a) to change who may bring a civil action and appends a new paragraph defining eligible persons (subparagraphs (A),(B),(C)).
Adds new section 2255A to Title 18 creating an additional civil remedy against providers of interactive computer services and app stores for (a)(1) intentional, knowing, or reckless promotion or aiding and abetting of specified sexual exploitation offenses and (a)(2) intentional, knowing, or reckless hosting, storing, or making available of child pornography; establishes remedies (actual damages or liquidated damages of $300,000, costs including reasonable attorney fees, and possible punitive and equitable relief); provides that there is no time limit for filing claims; sets venue and service rules; states that 47 U.S.C. 230 does not impair claims under this section; provides defenses (including timely removal requirements and technological impossibility), encryption protections, rules on admissibility of related evidence, sanctions for repeated bad-faith actions or defenses (applying Rule 11(c)), definitions (app, app store, interactive computer service), application of section 2258B, and a savings clause.
Amends section 3509 of title 18 by revising definitions and protective provisions and making conforming and substantive edits throughout subsections (a), (b), (d), (f), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), and (m). Specific changes include: (a) amendments to paragraphs (2)(A) and (3); replacement of paragraphs (5), (6), and (7) with new definitions for psychological abuse, exploitation, and multidisciplinary child abuse team; addition of definitions for 'covered person', 'protected information', 'child pornography', and 'obscene visual depiction of a child'; (b) wording changes replacing references to videotape/videotaped with 'video recording' and replacing 'minor' with 'child'; (d) replacing references to a child's name/information with 'a covered person's protected information', redesignating subparagraphs, adding enforcement authority referring to section 401(3), adding a presumption that disclosure of protected information would be detrimental and standards for denying motions for protective orders, and adding standards for requests for public disclosure; (f) subsection (f) is replaced with new victim impact statement requirements directing probation officers to seek information from multidisciplinary child abuse teams and requiring guardians ad litem to obtain and report views of child victims; (h) adds an authorization of appropriations ($25,000,000 per fiscal year) and supervision of payments by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts; (i) adds recording requirements for adult attendants and a right for covered persons to be accompanied by an adult attendant; (j)-(m) replace uses of 'child' with 'covered person' and make additional conforming edits. The amendments apply to conduct occurring before, on, or after enactment.
Amends subsection (c) of 18 U.S.C. 1593 by inserting additional text and adjusting/designating paragraph (2).
Amends subsection (c) of 18 U.S.C. 2248 by replacing and inserting specified language and designating/adjusting paragraphs.
Strikes and replaces subsection (a) to require restitution notwithstanding sections 3663/3663A and to order restitution for offenses including section 1466A and this chapter; amends subsection (b) to modify the monetary provisions in paragraph (2)(B) (including a $3,000 amount and a 10% provision); and revises subsection (c) by replacing definitions (including new definitions for "child pornography production" and "trafficking in child pornography" and related paragraph redesignations).
Amends subsection (a) of 18 U.S.C. 2259A to change cross-references: replaces "under section 2252(a)(4) or 2252A(a)(5)" with references to subparagraphs of section 2259(c)(3), and adjusts paragraph (2) language to refer to other specified offenses.
Amends 18 U.S.C. 2429: revises a cross-reference in subsection (b)(3) (replacing "2259(b)(3)" with "2259(c)(2)") and makes insertions and redesignations in subsection (d), including insertion of new paragraph structure and language.
Adds subsection (q) to 18 U.S.C. 3664 authorizing courts to appoint a trustee or other fiduciary to hold restitution payments for certain victims (minors, incompetent/incapacitated persons, and certain foreign or stateless persons residing outside the U.S.), specifying duties and limits on trustees, procedures for payment of trustee fees (including court-ordered defendant payment and applicability of other provisions), and authorizing appropriations of $15,000,000 per fiscal year to the United States courts with supervision of payments by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Joshua David Hawley · Last progress May 21, 2025
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 106.
Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.