Durbin Delivers Floor Speech On Big Tech's Failures To Protect Kids From Sexual Exploitation Online Ahead Of Tomorrow's Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

Floor Speech

"For the first time, the CEOs of five Big Tech companies will testify about the crisis of online child sexual exploitation. This continues our Committee's bipartisan work to combat the dangers children face online. This has been one of my top priorities as Chair of the Committee. I look forward to hearing from these companies about what they're doing to make their platforms inaccessible to child sex offenders. As recently as last week, some have launched new child safety measures that are long overdue… But it should not take a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to finally get these companies to prioritize child safety. Because these changes are half measures at best, I welcome the opportunity to question them about what more needs to be done.

There have been recent, troubling reports on how each of these platforms is being used by offenders to target children or trade child sexual abuse material. Some reports even detail how the platforms promote exploitative behavior… I am sure every member of the Senate has heard from constituents, friends, and family members about the harms Big Tech is inflicting on our kids. Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will demand answers.

Encryption can be a valuable tool for protecting privacy. But it is alarming for a company to kneecap their own work to stop online child sexual exploitation. This [move by Meta] highlights the unacceptable situation we find ourselves in. There are no tools to hold the company accountable. Instead, survivors and advocates are left to plead with these companies to choose safety over profit.

That law [the Communications Decency Act] was enacted to allow a nascent industry to grow. But now, it has become an entitlement for the most profitable industry in the history of capitalism to line their pockets at the expense of our kids.

Everyone needs to do their part to stop this gross injustice--and that includes Congress finally enacting legislation that holds the tech industry accountable when it fails to protect children. That is why the Judiciary Committee will hold its landmark hearing tomorrow. And it is why I will continue working to bring the STOP CSAM Act and other critical bills that would protect our kids to the Senate floor."

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