Sponsors (5)
The bill would meaningfully expand tech-focused supports—devices, experts, training, and grants—to help survivors of technological abuse, improving safety and service capacity, but does so with trade-offs in privacy/security risk, uncertain and potentially concentrated federal spending, and uneven geographic and organizational access.
Survivors of intimate partner, domestic, and sexual violence (including women, LGBTQ people, low-income and disabled survivors) will gain stronger, tech-informed protection and direct assistance—more access to trained tech experts, devices, and services to escape or recover from technological abuse.
Nonprofits, community organizations, culturally specific providers, colleges, and universities receive multi-year grants and resources to build tailored interventions, train staff and volunteers, and mobilize students/tech partners to provide digital-forensics and safe-tech assistance.
Local, state, tribal, and federal oversight and required program evaluations improve coordination, allow community input, and give Congress/administrators interim data to judge effectiveness before scaling programs.
Survivors and the general public face heightened privacy and security risks because expanding definitions of technological abuse, integrating tech partners, distributing devices, and collecting data could enable misuse, data breaches, or expanded surveillance if safeguards are inadequate.
Federal costs are uncertain and potentially large: the bill authorizes open-ended funding language (“such sums as necessary”) while also including program caps, creating a risk of increased taxpayer expense or funding gaps depending on appropriations choices.
Access and equity concerns — limiting the number and size of awards (e.g., 15 grants, per-grantee caps) plus administrative/partnership requirements (letters of support, consortia) could leave many rural, small, or underserved communities without services and make funds harder for small organizations to obtain.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 5-year pilot (up to 15 grants) and a $20M training grant program to combat technology-enabled abuse of survivors and fund training and technical assistance.
Official title: To establish a pilot program to address technology-related abuse in domestic violence cases.
Introduced June 25, 2025 by Debbie Dingell · Last progress June 25, 2025
Creates two related federal grant programs to fight technological abuse used in domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. One is a five-year pilot that can fund up to 15 consortia projects (up to $2 million each) that pair technical institutions or private-sector technologists with victim-service providers to prevent and respond to tech-enabled abuse; the other is a separate grant program (up to $20 million total) to fund training, curricula, tools, and technical assistance for organizations and schools supporting survivors. Grants may buy devices for victims and fund other program activities; the Office on Violence Against Women Director runs both programs in consultation with HHS, Education, and the FCC, must report on pilot results, and may receive appropriations as necessary.