COMBATING ONLINE PREDATORS ACT

On 2026-01-12, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8) delivered a floor speech titled "COMBATING ONLINE PREDATORS ACT" in the House. The speech addressed taxes and also covered trade policy, crime and justice. It referenced legislation: HR6719.

COMBATING ONLINE PREDATORS ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 8 (Monday, January 12, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 8 (Monday, January 12, 2026)] [House] [Pages H628-H630] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] COMBATING ONLINE PREDATORS ACT Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6719) to prohibit threats to a minor, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6719 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Combating Online Predators Act'' or the ``COP Act''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITING THREATS TO A MINOR. (a) Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors.-- Section 2252A of title 18, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)-- (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``illegal; or'' and inserting ``illegal;''; (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and (C) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following: ``(8) knowingly distributes, offers, sends, or provides, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a threat to distribute-- ``(A) a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, or ``(B) a visual depiction of a person the defendant believes is a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, with the intent that the minor, or the person the defendant believes is a minor, create or transmit a visual depiction of any minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct,''; and (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``or (6)'' and inserting ``(6), or (8)''. (b) Material Constituting or Containing Child Pornography.--Section 2252 of title 18, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)-- (A) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii), by striking ``or'' at the end; (B) in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), by inserting ``or'' after the semicolon; and (C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following: ``(5) knowingly distributes, offers, sends, or provides, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a threat to distribute-- ``(A) a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, or ``(B) a visual depiction of a person the defendant believes is a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, with the intent that the minor, or the person the defendant believes is a minor, create or transmit a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct,''; (2) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ``or (5)'' after ``paragraph (4)''; and (3) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ``or (5)'' after ``paragraph (4)''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lee) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida. [[Page H629]] General Leave Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6719. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Florida? There was no objection. Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as we recognize January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, I am proud of all the work the House Judiciary Committee has done and continues to do to protect children and our most vulnerable populations. In the 118th Congress, the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held two hearings focused on human trafficking, child protection, and the identification of victims. Through those important hearings, my legislation, the REPORT Act, which strengthened requirements for online service providers to report crimes involving child sex abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, was signed into law. I applaud Chairman Biggs for beginning the 119th Congress with our first subcommittee hearing once again focused on protecting victims of online exploitation. Our work is far from over, which is why I look forward to passing the Combating Online Predators Act today. Mr. Speaker, the rise of sextortion against our Nation's children is troubling. Sextortion is a form of exploitation that occurs when someone threatens to distribute another person's private, sensitive material unless that person complies with a demand for additional sexual content, sexual favors, or money. Incidents of sextortion have increased dramatically in recent years. Cases reported in the United States increased from 13,842 in the first half of 2024 to 23,593 in the same period in 2025. This rapid growth is disturbing, and it is unacceptable. Children are especially vulnerable to falling victim to sextortion, with boys aged 14 to 17 most often being targeted. Tragically, this exploitation has led some young people to take their own lives in an attempt to prevent their images from being shared with friends or family. Through this horrendous conduct, we have lost beautiful young lives, including Gavin Guffey from South Carolina, Bryce Tate from West Virginia, and many other children. I have also met with parents, including a mother from my home State of Florida, who shared the heartbreaking story of her son who fell victim to sextortion and later took his life. Each of these precious lives was taken too soon, and today, we honor and remember them. Yet, under current law, law enforcement is not fully equipped with the tools necessary to prosecute those who push children into these acts. Sextortion falls outside of the CSAM statute, forcing Federal prosecutors to rely on a patchwork of charging theories that do not fully reflect the gravity of these crimes. The absence of a specific Federal statute prohibiting sextortion leads to inconsistent and inadequate sentencing that can fail to capture the seriousness of this offense. A legislative fix is, therefore, necessary to ensure Federal prosecutors can charge this conduct directly and fight sextortion effectively. Congress has a duty to protect children from online exploitation and ensure predators are held fully accountable. The Combating Online Predators Act does exactly that by amending the United States Criminal Code to criminalize intentional threats to distribute child sex abuse material. No child should ever encounter these threats online, and no child should ever feel that the only way out is to end their own life. Predators must be stopped, and today, Congress continues its work. By passing the Combating Online Predators Act, we strengthen our laws, close a dangerous gap, and send a clear message to predators everywhere that this conduct will not be tolerated. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1600 Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6719, the Combating Online Predators Act, and I echo my distinguished colleague in noting that sextortion is a serious and rising threat faced by countless unsuspecting teens all over America when they use the internet and social media. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or NCMEC, operates a Cyber Tip Line to receive reports of suspected child exploitation. The Cyber Tip Line has received many more reports of sextortion of minors in recent years, amounting to tens of thousands of potential victims. These crimes have deadly consequences. NCMEC has identified 36 teens who took their own lives after being subjected to harsh and incessant harassment from callous perpetrators of sextortion. The problem is everywhere. Last May, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced the guilty plea of a man who had coerced at least 108 different girls to send him pictures and videos of themselves engaged in sexual conduct. The victims ranged in age from 5 to 17 years old and lived all over the U.S. and even around the world, from Tennessee and Massachusetts to Australia and the United Kingdom. When the man asked for access to the social media account of an 11- year-old, he wrote: ``Add me back or I'll post all your vids online and in servers. I have everything saved.'' When some victims said they did not want to send him any more images, he threatened to post the images online, come to their house, or tell their parents. The man victimized a 12-year-old, her friend, and her 5- year-old sister through Snapchat. Investigators obtained an IP address linked to the Snapchat account, which eventually led them to the perpetrator's house, where they recovered a laptop, two hard drives, and four iPhones containing evidence of the coercive treatment of more than 100 different girls. In this case, the man pled guilty to an existing crime of producing child sex abuse material. Prosecutors have said the existing statutes do not always fully address the scope or severity of the conduct involved in these terrible cases. This bill would close that gap and ensure that more of these criminals are held accountable. I hope we continue to work with our colleagues in a bipartisan way to strengthen and improve our laws to address these new and dangerous crimes and to keep our children safe online. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 6719, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs), the subcommittee chairman. Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership on this issue. I thank all the members of our Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, both Republicans and Democrats, for working together on these very important issues. Mr. Speaker, sextortion has become a devastating crisis. Predators threaten to release explicit imag

Referenced legislation: HR6719, HR6719