IJM Testifies About Child Sexual Exploitation Before Senate
Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC)
WASHINGTON D.C., March 11, 2025 – International Justice Mission’s (IJM) John Tanagho testified today before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism. The hearing, “Ending the Scourge: The Need for the STOP CSAM Act” is part of a larger effort by Congress to prevent online abuse and exploitation of children.
Tanagho, Executive Director for IJM’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, testified at the invitation of Chair Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL). Tanagho urged Congress to take measures to actively prevent child exploitation online.
“Congress should pass laws that incentivize companies to disrupt and deter the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, including live videos,” said Tanagho. He noted that, while many victims of this crime are in the Philippines and other countries around the world, Americans are some of the largest offenders. Once these individuals reach the threshold for directing livestreamed abuse online, they have crossed a psychological barrier that opens the door for contact offending – meaning the risk to American kids is also real. Tanagho added, “To make America safer, we should invest in holding livestreaming offenders accountable.”
“Tougher laws and incentives for American technology companies to address this issue are desperately needed,” said Nate King, U.S. Policy and Advocacy Director at IJM. “The entire industry must do more to detect, report and remove CSAM from their platforms, including livestreamed exploitation.”
“Senator Durbin and I have worked together on a number of initiatives. I don't think any is more important than confronting the scourge of child sexual exploitation or CSAM,” said Chair Hawley. “It is time to allow victims to have their day in court ... You can't sue these platforms; they're protected by congressional legislation. It's time to change that.”
The hearing comes as legislation to combat online sexual exploitation of children, such as the STOP CSAM Act, is being considered and introduced in the 119th Congress. Tanagho advocated for components of the previous version of the bill: access to restitution for survivors via court-appointed trustees, enhanced CyberTipline report requirements to support victim and suspect identification, and recourse for survivors to require online platforms to remove their nonconsensual images and videos.
“All CSAM victims have their dignity and privacy further ripped away from them when their abuse is captured in pictures or videos and put on display,” said Ranking Member Durbin. “That's why the STOP CSAM Act includes significant updates to federal law, such as creating a presumption in favor of keeping protected information under seal and providing the court with remedies against any attorney who does not comply with these privacy provisions.”
Elements of the proposed STOP CSAM Act will also maximize the efficacy of CyberTipline reports to help law enforcement better identify victims and offenders and require annual reports from large U.S.-based companies to provide more transparency about tech sector efforts to address CSAM.
The full list of witnesses included:
- Michelle DeLaune, CEO, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- John Pizzuro, CEO, RAVEN
- Gregory Schiller, CEO, Child Rescue Coalition
- Taylor Sines, Survivor Advocate
- John Tanagho, Executive Director, Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, International Justice Mission
Watch the full hearing and read the written testimony from John Tanagho.
About International Justice Mission
International Justice Mission partners with local authorities in 33 program offices in 19 countries to combat slavery, violence against women and children and police abuse of power. IJM’s mission is to protect people in poverty from violence by rescuing victims, bringing criminals to justice, restoring survivors to safety and strength, and helping local law enforcement build a safe future that lasts. Learn more at: IJM.org.
