Blackburn, Klobuchar, Cornyn, Blumenthal Introduce Legislation to Support Organizations Assisting Law Enforcement in Investigation of Child Sexual Exploitation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the Safe Cloud Storage Act, which would provide limited liability protections to law enforcement-approved vendors who store and transfer child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to assist in investigations of child sexual exploitation:

"Those helping law enforcement in the fight against child sexual exploitation must be able to securely store evidence of these horrific crimes," said Senator Blackburn. "Our bipartisan Safe Cloud Storage Act would ensure investigators can securely handle and store CSAM evidence in the cloud by providing limited liability protections. With this critical bill, we will continue our work to bring predators to justice and protect vulnerable children."

"We must do everything we can to protect our children from online exploitation and abuse," said Senator Klobuchar. "Our commonsense, bipartisan bill would improve investigations and prosecutions by allowing law enforcement to safely store and transmit evidence using cloud systems - saving time and resources."

"Secure, controlled storage of CSAM evidence during law enforcement investigations is essential for the pursuit of justice and protection of vulnerable children," said Senator Cornyn. "This legislation would give law enforcement the digital infrastructure and liability protections necessary to maintain evidence integrity so they can hold predators accountable for the abhorrent crime of child exploitation."

"The Safe Cloud Storage Act supports law enforcement in their work to fight the heinous exploitation children suffer from at the hands of online predators and the spread of child sexual abuse material," said Senator Blumenthal. "Too many children have been the victims of abhorrent abuse and stomach-churning crimes in our increasingly online world. This critical legislation ensures that law enforcement and their technology partners are able to protect our nation's children and hold perpetrators accountable."

BACKGROUND

• Last year, Senator Blackburn's REPORT Act was signed into law, which-among other things-provided limited liability protections for National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)-contracted vendors to store and transfer CSAM for investigative purposes.

• These civil and criminal liability protections were incredibly important for NCMEC as it reviews horrific evidence of child pornography during investigations of reports of exploitation received from online platforms.

• Other third-party law enforcement vendors similarly need the ability to store and handle this investigative material without facing criminal or civil liability.

THE SAFE CLOUD STORAGE ACT

• The Safe Cloud Storage Act would build upon Senator Blackburn's REPORT Act by ensuring that law enforcement-approved vendors who assist in investigations of child exploitation are permitted to securely store this evidence that is critical to holding these criminals accountable.

• Specifically, this bipartisan bill permits law enforcement-approved vendors to provide secure, cloud-based storage of CSAM evidence without facing a civil claim or criminal charge-giving law enforcement the flexibility they need as they work to investigate and target these horrific criminals.

• As with the REPORT Act, this legislation requires vendors to adhere to strict cybersecurity standards to ensure that this material is securely stored.

• Importantly, these law enforcement-approved vendors will not be shielded from civil or criminal claims under this bill's limited liability protections if they engage in intentional misconduct, negligent conduct, or if they act with malice.

• The Safe Cloud Storage Act also requires approved vendors to notify the U.S. Department of Justice within 30 days of contracting with law enforcement.

ENDORSEMENTS

The Safe Cloud Storage Act is endorsed by Raven:

"The Safe Cloud Storage Act is a critical step forward in modernizing how law enforcement investigates child sexual exploitation. By authorizing secure, cloud-based storage for CSAM evidence, this bill ensures that investigators can move cases faster, identify victims sooner, and hold offenders accountable, all while maintaining the highest cybersecurity standards. RAVEN strongly supports this effort to give law enforcement the 21st-century tools they need to protect children online," said Jennifer Dunton, Director of Legislative Affairs at Raven.

RELATED

• SIGNED INTO LAW: Blackburn, Ossoff Bill To Protect Missing And Exploited Children

Click here for bill text.