The digital age has brought with it new ways to exploit children for sexual reasons. But U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee hopes legislation passed by the House on Monday night will combat the trend of “sextortion.”
The Thonotosassa Republican presented the Combating Online Predators (COP) Act (HR 6719) on the House floor Monday, where it cleared the chamber on a voice vote with no objections.
“The rise of sextortion against our nation’s children is troubling,” Lee said. “Sextortion is a form of exploitation that occurs when someone threatens to distribute another person’s private, sensitive material unless that person complies with demands for additional sexual content, sexual favors or money. Incidents of sextortion have increased dramatically in recent years.”
The legislation now goes to the Senate. If passed and signed, it will for the first time explicitly criminalize threats to distribute child sex abuse materials.
“Sextortion is a devastating crime that preys on fear, shame, and vulnerability — especially among children,” Lee said when she introduced the bill.
“When predators threaten to distribute explicit images of minors, the harm is real and often irreversible. Congress has a duty to ensure our laws keep pace with the tactics used by online predators, and this legislation closes a critical gap to protect children and deliver justice for victims.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2023 reported a major increase in sextortion instances, with 26,718 reported to the organization that year compared to 10,731 in 2022. The FBI said the threat of sextortion has been particularly troubling with teenage boys.
The issue was highlighted last year after the death by suicide of West Virginia teen Bryce Tate. Investigators learned that hours before his death, he was threatened with the release of intimate images.
While the actual distribution of such images is a federal crime, threats to distribute are not covered under federal law, which has resulted in the dodging of changes for many attempted blackmailers, according to Lee’s office.
