'Are There Any Good Guys Out There?': Dick Durbin Questions Witnesses On Efforts To Combat CSAM

4 days ago

During a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the 'Stop CSAM' Act earlier this month, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked witnesses about what can be done to combat CSAM.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for your support on this measure, which goes back

00:05to the previous Congress. We switched places. It was Durbin-Hawley. Now it's Hawley-Durbin.

00:11It's a bill we're working on together on a bipartisan basis, as we should.

00:15I'm sorry that I'm late. I had a press conference scheduled with the leader that I couldn't

00:19change. I just want to follow up with a question or two. The STOP-CSAM Act is a comprehensive

00:26child protection bill, as we all know. We count it on survivors, law enforcement, prosecutors,

00:32and victims to help write it. A significant portion of the bill is dedicated to strengthening

00:37privacy protections for child victims. All CSAM victims have their dignity and privacy

00:43further ripped away from them when their abuse is captured in pictures or videos and put

00:48on display. That's why the STOP-CSAM Act includes significant updates to federal law, such as

00:54making a presumption in favor of keeping protected information under seal and providing

00:59the court with remedies against any attorney who does not comply with these privacy provisions.

01:04Mr. Schiller, can you explain why it's necessary to make these updates, and particularly, I'd

01:09like your thoughts on why it's important to have an enforcement provision within this

01:14statute?

01:15Thank you, Senator. I appreciate the question. I cannot begin to tell you how many times

01:20in my years of prosecuting cases that I have had to redact documents to do what I needed

01:27to do to protect a victim's identity. For years, we didn't know how to handle it. We

01:31didn't know exactly what we were supposed to do, and this legislation gives us that

01:35direction. But more so, it makes sure that criminal defense attorneys, pro se defendants

01:42who might not care about their victims because, frankly, they're the ones who were violating

01:47them, want to continue to harm them. Not the defense attorneys, of course, but the

01:51defendants themselves. This law would make sure that they can't do that anymore, and

01:56there would be sanctions in place if they did.

01:59Ms. Saenz, your exploiter was recently prosecuted in federal court. I understand you participated

02:06in that process. What, if anything, could have been done to make it easier or better

02:11for you?

02:13Thank you, Senator. In all transparency, it was the easiest thing I think I have ever

02:19done. My prosecutor to the detective who worked my case made it effortless for me. They handled

02:26the brunt of any accusations, any terrible questions. They were able to shield me from

02:32having to sit and look through images and identify myself. Truly, I consider myself

02:39very lucky that I don't think anything could have been done better for my case, but I know

02:44that that's not how it is for every victim. I know that law enforcement falls short. I

02:49know prosecution can fall short. In my case, my school resource officer fell short. I think

02:55it's making sure that everyone is well-educated on CSAM and what sextortion and exploitation

03:01means and how prevalent it is in their own backyards.

03:05That is so good to hear after all you've been through, that you had a day in court

03:09of that nature.

03:11Thank you, Senator.

03:12Mr. Pizzurro, welcome back.

03:15Let me ask you about the enhanced privacy protections available to child victims continuing

03:20when they turn 18. Is that important?

03:23It's really important, and I think that's the aspect. I think part of the reporting

03:28aspects, just from a law enforcement, as Mrs. DeLune had indicated, we don't have the

03:34information when we're trying to do these investigations. I think that's the challenge,

03:39and the reports that we do get, and this is where STOP CCM really helps law enforcement

03:45actually get quality leads in order for us to go out and investigate and find victims

03:50and protect them better.

03:52I'm going to ask a question that I'm sure others would like to know the answer to as

03:58well. Are there any good guys out there, any social media spots and others, that are responding

04:04properly in timely fashion?

04:07How do I word this? I would say no. I would say some do it better than others, but what

04:14they're doing good isn't good at all.

04:17Any of the panelists have anything to say on that?

04:22Thank you, Senator. I agree. I think some of them have been getting better, but I think

04:29that a lot of that has to do with the pressure that they've been receiving from law enforcement,

04:33from prosecutors, from the Department of Justice to provide more information, but that's not

04:40the way it's supposed to happen. There's supposed to be a uniform standard to make sure that

04:44they're all providing the same and necessary information. It would help NCMEC to be able

04:49to process their reports faster to get to law enforcement so that the prosecutors can

04:54issue subpoenas and search warrants and we can move faster. Every day that we have to

04:59wait on information, every day that we're not getting enough information is a day a

05:03child is being harmed, and we can't have that. We need robust information if we're going

05:08to do our jobs properly.

05:10Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

'Are There Any Good Guys Out There?': Dick Durbin Questions Witnesses On Efforts To Combat CSAM

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