Durbin Delivers Remarks At Anti-Trafficking In Persons Roundtable, Calls For Federal Action To Rein In Big Tech

Durbin Delivers Remarks At Anti-Trafficking In Persons Roundtable, Calls For Federal Action To Rein In Big Tech

In his remarks, Durbin called for the passage of federal legislation to hold Big Tech accountable for its role in facilitating child exploitation and human trafficking

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today joined members of the Interparliamentary Taskforce on Human Trafficking (ITHT) to deliver remarks at the Anti-Trafficking in Persons (ATIP) Global Policy Summit and roundtable, where he spoke of federal efforts to combat child exploitation and human trafficking. In his remarks, Durbin urged the passage of his STOP CSAM Act and DEFIANCE Act-two pieces of legislation that would collectively empower survivors to hold Big Tech accountable for its role in facilitating child abuse and sexual violence.

The STOP CSAM Act would allow victims to sue online providers and app stores that make available, promote, host or store child sexual abuse material. The bill would also require large tech companies to submit annual reports detailing their efforts to protect children on their platforms. Last week, Durbin delivered a speech on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to pass the bill, which advancedunanimously out of the Judiciary Committee in June. The DEFIANCE Act gives victims of non-consensual, sexually explicit deepfakes the ability to sue their abusers.

Photos of Durbin delivering his remarks can be found here.

Durbin's remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin for the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy Roundtable

September 18, 2025

As Prepared for Delivery

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to speak today. I want to welcome members of the Interparliamentary Taskforce on Human Trafficking to Washington, D.C. It is an honor to have you here, along with so many distinguished advocates, survivor leaders, and colleagues who have dedicated their lives to ending human trafficking and child exploitation.

First and foremost, to the survivors in this room, your courage and persistence in turning pain into advocacy are the reason we are here today. You remind us that behind every policy debate and every bill is a life forever changed. Thank you for demanding that lawmakers like me continue to do more. The exploitation of vulnerable individuals and populations is a crisis that transcends borders. Women and children are being targeted on the internet every day.

The online risks-grooming, recruitment into trafficking, sextortion, and victimization through CSAM, AI-generated pornography, and non-consensual intimate imagery are staggering. The intersection of child abuse, sexual violence, and technology has created a public health and human rights emergency. Tragically, the law has not kept up with advances in technology, and victims are paying the price.

Earlier this week, in a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing, I heard from grieving parents whose children were sexually groomed and improperly influenced by AI chatbots. Those chatbots-designed without proper guardrails, safety checks, or accountability-encouraged these children to take their own lives. And two of them tragically did. Children are dead because products were rushed to market without regard for safety. Big Tech chose profit margins over kids' lives. This cannot be allowed to continue.

The exploitation of children online is borderless. No nation can solve this crisis alone. This is why these forums are so important. We must build laws that work together to protect children, no matter where they live.

That is why I will continue to fight for passage of my STOP CSAM Act and the DEFIANCE Act. The STOP CSAM Act is legislation that holds tech companies accountable, brings transparency to their practices, strengthens law enforcement's tools, and puts survivors and their families at the center of our response. The DEFIANCE Act gives victims of non-consensual, sexually-explicit deepfakes their day in court by allowing victims to sue their abusers.

Most important, both of these bills would open the courthouse doors to survivors so they can hold Big Tech accountable. We know that the possibility of liability is what leads companies to change their behavior. Big Tech is spending millions of dollars to block legislation to change their practices. But the good news is that, as divided as our country is, this is one issue that unites us in the Senate. I will keep pushing until these bills become law.

Governments must prioritize the safety of children over the profits of powerful industries. The days of Big Tech policing itself must come to an end. And gatherings like this show that when nations stand together, we can create a digital world that protects the vulnerable instead of preying on them.

To the survivors and advocates here today: keep pushing us. Do not let us off the hook. Your voices are the most powerful tool we have to drive change. And to my colleagues here and around the world, let's ensure that no child, anywhere, is left vulnerable to exploitation. Together, we can-and we must-meet this moment.

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