Grassley Opening Statement on Ensuring Children’s Safety in the Digital Era

 

Good morning. In today’s digital era, our young people face risks that previous generations couldn’t have imagined. Even though technology brings amazing opportunities for education and growth, it also opens the door to new dangers that we must confront. This isn’t the first hearing we’ve had on this issue. And unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last.

 

We held a hearing on this same subject roughly a year ago, when we brought in CEOs from some of the largest social media companies to discuss safety issues on their platforms. And we held a similar hearing a year before that.

 

On the one hand, this is alarming because the problem is getting worse. In 2023, for instance, the NCMEC CyberTipline received 36.2 million reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation, a 12% increase over 2022. And even though the numbers haven’t been published for 2024, I hear they’re only expected to go up.

 

Additionally alarming are the new technologies that are being used by bad actors to exploit children online. Predators can use Generative AI, for instance, to take normal images of children and manipulate them to create novel forms of CSAM. In 2024 alone, NCMEC reported over 60,890 instances of Generative AI CSAM.

 

Despite this, so far, Congress has enacted no significant legislation to address the dangers children face online. And tech platforms have been unhelpful in our legislative efforts. Big Tech promises to collaborate, but they’re noticeably silent in supporting legislation that would effect meaningful change. In fact, Big Tech’s lobbyists swarm the Hill, armed with red herrings and scare tactics, suggesting that we’ll somehow break the Internet if we implement even modest reforms.

 

Meanwhile, these tech platforms generate revenues that dwarf the economies of most nations. How do they make so much money? By compromising our data and privacy, and by keeping our children’s eyes glued to the screens through addictive algorithms.

Indeed, in one recent study, 46% of teens reported that they are online “almost constantly.” This has had severe mental health consequences for adolescents. It has also led to a rise in sexual exploitation, as some algorithms have actually connected victims to their abusers.

 

Should tech platforms be allowed to profit at the expense of our children’s privacy, safety and health? Should they be allowed to contribute to a toxic digital ecosystem without being held accountable? I believe the answer is clear. When these platforms fail to implement adequate safety measures, they are complicit in the harm that follows, and they should be held accountable.

 

That said, there are some signs of encouragement. Just as new technologies are being developed that exacerbate harms to children online, so too are technologies being developed to combat exploitation. For example, with AI rapidly evolving, open-source safety tools are being developed to recognize and report CSAM. Some of the witnesses here today will be able to speak to these tools.

 

Additionally, on a Committee with some of the most diverse viewpoints in the Senate, we’ve advanced bipartisan legislation that addresses legal gaps in our current framework—especially those related to the blanket immunity that Section 230 provides.

 

Last Congress, for example, we reported several online safety bills out of Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support. And there are a number of bills that are being considered and refined this Congress, which we’ll give attention to in due course.

 

That being said, we can’t come up with a wise and effective legislative solution without first understanding the nature and scope of the problem. That’s why we’re here today. Our witnesses come from various backgrounds and represent diverse perspectives, all of which point to the need for our Committee to improve legislation and continue working to keep our kids safe.

 

So with that, I’ll open things up to Ranking Member Durbin to give his opening remarks. After that, we’ll hear from Senators Blackburn and Klobuchar. Then, I’ll introduce the witnesses and swear them in.