Bill > S539

This bill reauthorizes the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, making several significant updates to the national strategy for preventing and addressing child exploitation. The bill modifies the frequency of national strategy reporting from every two years to every four years and expands the required contents of the national strategy, including more comprehensive analyses of child exploitation trends, challenges, and resource needs. It strengthens the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program by broadening its scope to include Tribal and military law enforcement, emphasizing the identification of child victims, and prioritizing investigations most likely to result in positive outcomes. The bill provides limited liability protection for ICAC task forces in legal proceedings, unless they engage in intentional misconduct or gross negligence. It also increases funding, authorizing $70 million for fiscal year 2026, rising to $90 million by fiscal year 2028, and adds new provisions for educating the judiciary about the characteristics of internet offenders and the connections between different types of child exploitation crimes. Additionally, the bill requires more detailed reporting from service providers and eliminates the requirement for additional regional computer forensic labs, focusing resources on enhancing existing task force capabilities and investigative efforts.

Justice

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/539/all-info