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.

A proposal meant to crack down on fraudulent commercial driver’s license activity at DMV sites zipped through its first Senate committee with unanimous support.

Members of the Senate Transportation Committee advanced the measure (SB 584) by Miami Springs Republican Sen. Bryan Ávila, who said there’s a rising trend in Miami-Dade of people lying about being licensed to drive commercial vehicles.

Ávila said Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez approached him about the problem, which could spread to other parts of the state, if it hasn’t already.

“The goal here, Senators, is to protect the integrity of driver licensing processes, deter fraud and support compliant driving schools without altering curriculum testing standards or a statewide eligibility criteria,” he said.

“This is an effort to make sure we can cover all our bases through cooperation and through collaboration with our Tax Collector.”

If approved, the legislation would authorize the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to formally delegate enforcement authority over commercial driving schools to county Tax Collectors through interagency agreements.

Under those agreements, Tax Collectors could bar driving school operators from Tax Collector Offices, investigate fraud or practices undermining license integrity, require license verification and inspect driving school premises for legal compliance

“We want to make sure that when they’re out on the road, they’re not going to be a menace to society,” Ávila previously told Florida Politics while discussing his 2026 legislative priorities. “We want everyone that is driving any truck or vehicle on our roadways to be absolutely qualified and licensed to be driving.”

Barney Bishop of the Florida Smart Justice Alliance and Carlos San Jose of Corcoran Partners signaled support for the measure, which will next go to the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development.

A House twin of the bill (HB 953) by Miami Republican Rep. Omar Blanco awaits committee referrals.