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S. 3398119th CongressIn committeeLatest action Dec 9, 2025Decoded by AI · checked against the record
The plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
S 3398 criminalizes threats involving child sexual abuse material and adds up to 10 extra prison years for using it to extort victims.
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S 3398, the Stop Sextortion Act, makes it a federal crime to threaten to share child sexual abuse material even if no such images actually exist. The bill also increases maximum prison sentences by up to 10 additional years for offenders who knowingly use such material to harm, control, or manipulate a victim. These sentencing enhancements apply across several existing federal child exploitation laws.
The bill targets predators and criminals who use real or fabricated threats involving child sexual abuse material to blackmail or control victims. It primarily affects child and teenage victims who are targeted online, and it gives law enforcement clearer federal legal tools to prosecute these cases.
Current federal law focuses on people who actually possess or distribute child sexual abuse material, leaving a gap for those who only threaten to use it. Closing this loophole means prosecutors could pursue charges based on the threat alone, regardless of whether any material exists.
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.