S. 3704119th CongressIn committeeLatest action Jan 27, 2026Decoded by AI · checked against the record
The plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
S 3704 makes it a federal crime to threaten a minor with releasing sexual images to pressure them into producing more.
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S 3704 makes it a federal crime to threaten a minor with the distribution of child sexual abuse material, even if no images are actually shared. The bill targets sextortion, a tactic where predators threaten to release sexual images of a child unless that child produces and sends more sexual content. It covers threats made against real minors and against people the offender believes are minors.
The bill most directly affects online predators who use these threats to coerce children, making that behavior a federal offense. It also affects targeted minors, law enforcement, and parents or guardians of children who use the internet.
Federal law already criminalized producing, distributing, and possessing child sexual abuse material, but did not explicitly cover the act of threatening to distribute it as a coercive tool. This bill closes that gap, giving law enforcement a clearer legal basis to prosecute this specific behavior.
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.