Durbin, Hawley, New Mexico Attorney General Demand Action To Protect Children Online

Durbin, Hawley, New Mexico Attorney General Demand Action To Protect Children Online

In a press conference alongside abuse survivors and child safety advocates, Durbin, Hawley, and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez called for the passage of the STOP CSAM Act and Section 230 reform as Big Tech companies face accountability in court

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stood alongside child safety advocates to demand that Congress take decisive action to protect America's children online by passing critical bipartisan legislation, including U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) and Durbin's Sunset Section 230 Act, Durbin's and Hawley's STOP CSAM Act, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

Today's press conference comes after a jury in New Mexico found that Meta misled users about the safety of its platforms and enabled sexual exploitation of young users and another jury in California found that Meta and Google negligently designed their platforms to be addictive to young users. These two bellwether cases are the first of many court proceedings at both the state and federal levels, but it remains critical that Congress pass federal legislation to hold social media companies accountable.

"Big Tech will not reform on its own. It has shown time and again that if given the choice, it will choose profits over people. But the dam is breaking. Lawsuits like those in New Mexico and California will keep on coming," Durbin said. "If Big Tech companies are forced to face accountability and liability for the harm they do, they will change their behavior. Congress has to do its part to make that happen."

"No amount of profit by the Big Tech companies justifies destroying the lives of America's children. I don't care how much money they give to their shareholders. It doesn't justify destroying the lives, the futures, the hopes, and the dreams of our children. Big Tech's profits are coming from the exploitation of children. And what we're saying today is we've had enough," said Hawley.

"New Mexico has led the fight to hold Big Tech accountable, and we are not slowing down," said Torrez. "But states cannot do this alone. We need Congress to pass KOSA with a real duty of care, and sunset the outdated legal immunity that has allowed these companies to profit from the exploitation of children with no consequences. The time for half measures is over."

Footage of today's press conference can be found here.

Durbin has used his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee to prioritize child safety online through hearings, legislation, and oversight efforts.

On January 31, 2024, while Durbin was serving as Chair, the Committee held a hearing featuring testimony from the CEOs of social media companies Discord, Meta, Snap, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter). This hearing highlighted the ongoing risk to children and the immediate need for Congress to act on the bipartisan bills reported by the Committee.

Durbin and Hawley joined forces to reintroduce the bipartisan STOP CSAM Act, which would combat online child sexual abuse material. The bill passed the Judiciary Committee unanimously and awaits action on the Senate floor.

In addition, Durbin's bipartisan Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024 (DEFIANCE Act) passed the Senate in July 2024 and again in January 2026. The legislation would hold accountable those responsible for the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexually-explicit "deepfake" images and videos. The bill awaits consideration by the House.

Durbin also introduced the bipartisan Sunset Section 230 Act, which would repeal Section 230 two years after the date of enactment so that those harmed online can bring legal action against companies. The bill awaits consideration by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

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