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S. 3397119th CongressIn committeeLatest action Dec 9, 2025Decoded by AI · checked against the record
The plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
Senate bill S 3397 makes coercing a minor into suicide, killing, or cyberattacks a federal crime with up to life in prison.
55-second read · 4 questions answered below
S 3397 creates a new federal crime for adults who use threats, blackmail, fraud, humiliation, or manipulation to coerce a minor into attempting suicide, killing someone, harming a person or animal, committing arson, or carrying out doxxing or swatting attacks. The law applies even when the adult uses another person as an intermediary. Doxxing refers to posting someone's personal information online to harass them; swatting means making a fake emergency call to send a SWAT team to someone's home.
The bill most directly affects children targeted online by adults seeking to manipulate them into dangerous or violent actions. It also affects parents, schools, law enforcement, and tech companies, which would face expanded duties to report this new category of offense.
Adults convicted of coercing a child into attempted suicide or killing another person could face life in prison, while other covered offenses carry a maximum sentence of 30 years. Technology companies already required to report child exploitation material would have additional reporting obligations under the expanded system.
AI-drafted summary. Verify it against the official text before you act on it. Read the official bill on Congress.gov
Right now: a Senate committee is reviewing it. If the House changes it, it goes back to the Senate before reaching the President.
Latest action: — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.