Federal and state legislatures have begun taking significant steps to close the gap between technology and policy. From redefining what constitutes abuse to creating new mandates for platforms, a growing number of new laws signals a sense of urgency to safeguard the vulnerable from online exploitation and abuse.
Among those praising the recent legislative shifts is TL Robinson, Founder and CEO of GOTU, an impact research and technology company that works to educate and empower sexual assault survivors, supporters, and advocates. The company has a survivorship app that is launching soon., and, every two years, GOTU releases a State of Survivorship report with two years of research dedicated to the life journeys of sexual assault survivors, survivor supporters, and advocates. The report is distributed to law enforcement agencies, legal resources, advocacy groups, and political representatives to increase the focus on survivorship of victims of sex crimes to better support and empower victimized persons.
As the threat of online sexual exploitation and abuse increases for vulnerable populations around the world, amplified by AI advancements in technology, legislators are fighting back with policies to make the online space safer. Robinson weighs in on some of the state and federal laws that have garnered attention in the abuse prevention, survivor support, and advocacy communities.
REPORT Act Sets New Federal Standard for Online Safety
The federal REPORT Act was passed in 2024. The REPORT Act requires websites and social media platforms to report crimes involving Federal trafficking and enticement of children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The REPORT Act increases fines for companies that knowingly and willfully fail to report child sex abuse material on their site. It requires evidence to be preserved for a longer period, giving law enforcement more time to investigate and prosecute crimes.
The law, which garnered bipartisan support, expanded the types of abuse that must be reported and the timeframe within which reports must be made.
The REPORT Act shifts the responsibility for protecting vulnerable users to the platforms and adults who encounter exploitative materials while using them. The legislation is a direct response to decades of calls for reform by survivors and advocates who argue that online environments have become complicit by neglect.
It’s a legislative step in the right direction, according to TL Robinson.
“The REPORT Act is a much-needed advancement in the fight against the sexual abuse of children,” Robinson says. “It further shifts the responsibility from the victims to the adults and organizations who have implicit or explicit awareness of a (potential) crime. Children have become safer; adults and organizations have become more accountable.”
California AB 1394 Requires Social Media Platforms to Remove CSAM
In California, Assembly Bill 1394 takes direct aim at child sexual abuse material by requiring social media platforms to permanently block instances of reported content and remove any known duplicates. The bill, which was passed in 2023, requires a court to award damages between $1M and $4M for each act of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that is the result of a platform’s system, design, or feature.
Robinson calls this law a “proactive change that the survivorship community really needs” and suggests the next step is to mandate takedown of the content across all platforms, regardless of ownership.
Emerging State Laws Strengthen Online Protections
Several other states are working on or have passed laws that reflect the evolving nature of digital threats:
- Florida law has made the crime of producing, possessing, or distributing child pornography, including AI-generated child pornography, a felony offense.
- Washington’s House Bill 1999 was passed in 2024 and broadens the definition of child pornography to include AI-generated images and allows victims to sue for civil damages.
- Kentucky’s Senate Bill 73 was signed into law in 2025 and classifies sextortion—a growing threat targeting minors—as a felony.
- Mississippi’s House Bill 1126 requires social media companies to make reasonable efforts to shield minors from harmful content. Named after a teen who tragically died by suicide after being targeted in a sextortion scam, the Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act highlights the real-world stakes of digital safety.
“These bills are very good starts,” says Robinson. But she wants legislators and victim advocates to think beyond these bills. “ Familial, specifically parental, engagement would make them more meaningful and effective. Parents must have awareness that their kids are online, with full knowledge of the platforms that the kids are using, and part of the monitoring process of images—real or not—of their kids.”
Even the most well-intentioned parents may not be adequately preparing their children for issues related to digital safety.
Why do parents underestimate how frequently their children experience risks online? Some parents have high confidence in their ability to prevent online risks or secure online safety for their children, but they lack awareness of how frequently their children have encountered online risks.
One factor that could be preventing family awareness of risks is that parents need different digital knowledge and skills to prevent a variety of risks, ranging from cyberbullying to sexting to CSAM. Parents may have the awareness and information to ward off cyberbullying, for example, without fully understanding the pervasive issue of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
As Robinson notes, “Prevention starts with awareness—and with accountability.” Protecting children in digital spaces requires a collective response that includes lawmakers, tech companies, educators, caregivers, advocates, and families working together to make the online space safer for everyone.
