HR 3921119th CongressIn Committee

STOP CSAM Act of 2025

Introduced: Jun 11, 2025

Civil Rights & JusticeTechnology & Innovation

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The STOP CSAM Act of 2025 is a comprehensive package aimed at reducing the sexual exploitation of children online, strengthening protections for child victims and witnesses in federal proceedings, increasing accountability for technology platforms, and expanding financial remedies for victims. The measure broadens definitions related to exploitation and abuse, enhances privacy protections for victims in court, and creates new funding to support these efforts. It also imposes a formal duty on online service providers to report suspected CSAM to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) via its CyberTipline, with detailed reporting requirements intended to improve investigation and victim support. In short, the bill seeks to (1) protect child victims and witnesses more effectively in federal cases, (2) improve the handling of sensitive victim information and testimony, (3) bolster restitution and civil remedies for offenses involving child exploitation, (4) hold tech platforms to higher standards of reporting and transparency, and (5) provide dedicated funding to implement these changes.

Key Points

1Expanded protections for child victims and witnesses in federal court
2- Adds kidnapping (including international parental kidnapping) to offenses involving victims.
3- Expands the definitions of “physical injury” to include psychological harm and redefines “exploitation” and “psychological abuse” to cover a broader range of abusive conduct.
4- Introduces new or revised terms such as “covered person” (victims or witnesses under 18 at the time of the offense) and “protected information” (sensitive identifying and related data) to govern privacy and court procedures.
5- Creates and uses the concept of a multidisciplinary child abuse team to inform investigations and court processes.
6Reforms to how child witnesses testify and how information is handled in court
7- Requires video recording of certain depositions and testimony, replacing older videotape practices with modern recording methods.
8- Expands the rights of a child to have an adult attendant present, and it requires certain protective measures to preserve a child’s safety and privacy.
9- Establishes presumptions and protective-order standards to minimize public disclosure of protected information, with court-ordered exceptions only under narrowly defined public-interest conditions.
10Restitution, civil remedies, and fiduciary protections for victims
11- Broadly expands restitution requirements to cover offenses involving visual depictions of minors, including child pornography production and trafficking.
12- Defines and updates “child pornography production” and “trafficking in child pornography” to cover a wide range of conduct and related offenses.
13- Allows for the appointment of trustees or fiduciaries to manage restitution payments for certain victims (e.g., minors, incapacitated individuals, or foreign citizens/statesless persons outside the U.S.) and sets duties, oversight, and fee arrangements for those fiduciaries.
14- Creates new or expanded rules for the handling and inspection of recovered materials in civil actions involving restitution, with limits on copying or reproducing child pornography.
15CyberTipline reporting duties and industry transparency
16- Requires providers to report any apparent violations or CSAM-related material to the CyberTipline within 60 days of acquiring knowledge or discovering the material.
17- Expands the content of required reports to include detailed information about subjects, involved minors, content, and context (including whether content is AI-generated or machine-generated, whether it has been reported before, and other metadata).
18- Mandates collection and sharing of additional identifying information, context, and historical data to aid investigations and victim protection.
19- Imposes a framework intended to increase accountability and transparency of how platforms handle CSAM content.
20Funding and implementation
21- Authorizes specific annual appropriations to support these provisions, including:
22- 25 million dollars per year to carry out the victim-witness protections and related court measures.
23- 15 million dollars per year to support the trustee/fiduciary system for restitution.
24- Provides oversight and administration requirements for these funds.

Impact Areas

Primary: Child victims and witnesses in federal cases- Stronger protections for privacy and safety in court proceedings.- Expanded restitution and clearer pathways to recover losses from offenders.- Enhanced support mechanisms for reporting and addressing the impact of crimes on child victims.Secondary: Technology platforms, service providers, and the broader online ecosystem- New mandatory reporting obligations to CyberTipline within tight timeframes.- Expanded data and content disclosures in reports, potentially increasing platform compliance costs and procedural burdens.- Increased transparency about how CSAM content is handled, including AI-generated content and multiple reports on the same material.Additional impacts- Financial and administrative strain on federal courts and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts due to new reporting, protective-order, and restitution mechanisms.- Potential privacy and civil liberties considerations due to broader sharing of personal and minor information in investigative reporting and court proceedings.- International and cross-border dimensions through the inclusion of international parental kidnapping and foreign victims in the restitution/fiduciary framework.CSAM: Child Sexual Abuse Material.NCMEC CyberTipline: A centralized reporting channel run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children for suspected CSAM and related offenses.Guardian ad litem: A court-appointed representative who advocates for a child’s best interests in legal proceedings.Protected information: Highly sensitive data about a minor or other covered person that is shielded from public disclosure in court.Trustee/Fiduciary: A person or entity appointed by the court to manage and disburse restitution funds to victims.

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