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PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025
6/17/2025, 8:31 PM
Summary of Bill S 539
The bill includes provisions that focus on improving the coordination and effectiveness of law enforcement efforts to combat child exploitation. It also seeks to enhance training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors who work on these cases. Additionally, the bill aims to increase resources for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which plays a crucial role in helping to locate missing children and combat child exploitation.
Furthermore, the bill includes measures to improve the reporting and tracking of child exploitation cases, as well as provisions to enhance the penalties for individuals who engage in these heinous crimes. Overall, the goal of Bill 119 s 539 is to strengthen the protections in place for children and ensure that those who exploit and abuse children are held accountable for their actions.
Congressional Summary of S 539
PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025
This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 and updates (1) the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction (National Strategy), and (2) the National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program.
With respect to the National Strategy, current law requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to update the strategy every two years and include 19 specific elements in the strategy (e.g., long-range goals, annual measurable objectives, and future trends). This bill requires DOJ to update the National Strategy every four years. The bill also revises and consolidates the 19 required elements into 9 required elements, including an analysis of current trends and challenges as well as the overall magnitude of the threat of child exploitation.
The ICAC Task Force Program is a national network of task forces that support state and local efforts to investigate and prosecute the online sexual exploitation of children. This bill requires ICAC task forces to increase the investigative capacity of law enforcement to identify child victims and report the number of child victims identified in their annual reports. The bill also limits the liability of ICAC task forces for civil claims or criminal charges in federal or state court arising from decisions with respect to leads related to internet crimes against children.
Finally, the bill requires the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to provide additional information to law enforcement agencies when it refers a report of online sexual exploitation of children for investigation.
