Cornyn Introduces Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Protect Children Online

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has joined some of his colleagues in bicameral and bipartisan fashion to introduce the PROTECT Our Children Act, which would reauthorize and reengineer the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program to keep up with modern times.

The ICAC Task Force consists of 61 federal, state, and local task forces, with 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies trained to protect children from sexual exploitation, both online and offline. These agencies are "engaged in both proactive and reactive investigations, forensic investigations, and criminal prosecutions.

The ICAC Task Force has led the charge in arresting more than 123,000 suspects relating to child exploitation.

Alongside updating and modernizing the ICAC Task Force, the PROTECT Our Children Act would reauthorize the program through 2028.

Sen. Cornyn shared that the ICAC Task Force has an upstanding track record working with law enforcement, and this bill would provide them with the tools necessary to combat child predators online.

“The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program has a long history of equipping our law enforcement officers with the tools needed to safeguard children and hold perpetrators accountable,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would reauthorize and update this critical program to address the evolving digital threat landscape and protect our children from these heinous crimes.”

Moreover, Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), two sponsors of the bill in the lower chamber, agreed with Sen. Cornyn's sentiment regarding the necessity of this bill.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz shared that this bill will "help make the internet a safe space" for young people and build upon the legislation she introduced more than 10 years ago on this issue.

“Our lives are increasingly intertwined with the internet, and those who would commit crimes against our children know that all too well. With the PROTECT Our Children Act, the ICAC Task Force Program will get predators off line and help make the internet a safe space for all children,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to build on the original PROTECT Our Children Act that I authored over a decade ago. We all have a role to play in keeping our children safe.”

Furthermore, Rep. Moskowitz echoed Wasserman Schultz's statement, saying that reauthorizing this program is "the right to do" to keep children from encountering "vile predators" on the internet.

“In Florida and every other state in the country, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces have protected our kids from vile predators in the darkest parts of the digital world,” said Rep. Moskowitz. “These law enforcement programs have a proven track record of getting tens of thousands of bad actors off the streets, and reauthorizing this program is the right thing to do to keep kids safe. I’m proud to be joining this broad, bipartisan group of colleagues to support these programs so law enforcement agencies across Florida can continue their work combatting child exploitation and other heinous crimes.”

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Representatives Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02), and Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) also introduced this bill.