U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee has initiated an inquiry with several major tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, Discord, and X, concerning a significant decrease in reports of child sexual abuse material, online enticement, and child sex trafficking to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline in 2024.
Senator Blackburn’s REPORT Act, passed last year, mandates that online platforms report such incidents to the CyberTipline, which plays a crucial role in law enforcement investigations of online child exploitation. However, recent data shows a drop in reports from these companies, which has raised concerns.
According to the Senator, “The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline is the preeminent online mechanism for members of the public and electronic service providers to report incidents of suspected child exploitation. The CyberTipline has received hundreds of millions of reports of online child sexual exploitation, and federal law requires online platforms to report known incidents of child sexual abuse material (child pornography), online enticement and child sex trafficking to NCMEC. Despite this important legal obligation, there has been a notable drop in reports to the CyberTipline from several platforms.”
The REPORT Act aims to support NCMEC’s mission by requiring online platforms to report instances of child sex trafficking, closing a gap in federal child exploitation laws. Senator Blackburn stated, “Last year, my bipartisan legislation—the Revising Existing Procedures on Reporting via Technology (REPORT) Act… was signed into law. This critical bill supports NCMEC in its core mission to protect our children online and assists law enforcement in their investigative efforts. Importantly, the law closed a gap in federal child exploitation laws by mandating that online platforms—including yours—report instances of child sex trafficking and enticement, which was not previously required under federal law. To ensure compliance with this requirement, the REPORT Act also increases the maximum fines for providers who knowingly and willfully fail to submit these reports to NCMEC.”
Testimony from NCMEC’s President and CEO to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, along with their data, indicates a sharp decline in the number of reports from Google, Discord, Microsoft, and X since the REPORT Act’s enactment. “Despite these requirements, recent testimony by NCMEC’s President and CEO to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism and data provided by NCMEC indicates that there has been a sharp decline in the number of reports that Google, [Discord, Microsoft, and X have] submitted to the CyberTipline since the passage of the REPORT Act… This notable decrease in reports to NCMEC is both puzzling and deeply troubling. It is crucial that your company fulfill its legal obligations to report these heinous crimes that occur on your platform. Our children deserve nothing less,” Blackburn emphasized.
Readers can access the letters sent to each company by clicking on the provided links for Google, Microsoft, Discord, and X.
