In today’s modern, connected world, the unfortunate practice of blackmailing people with online photographs and videos is all too common—as is predator behavior. To combat the issue, Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) has introduced the Interstate Sextortion Prevention Act.
The legislation makes online sexual extortion a federal crime, defined as the use of extortion and threats to coerce sexual activity.
Perpetrators often hack into personal devices to find intimate images or coerce young victims to share sexually explicit content. The threat of exposure is used by the offender as leverage to demand an escalation of sexual acts. Earlier this year, the non-partisan think-tank Brookings Institution underscored the growing prevalence of online sexual extortion, its disproportionate impact on women and children, and gaps in federal law. Clark’s bill makes it a federal crime to use threats to cause another person to produce sexually explicit content or engage in sexual activity against their will. It would also criminalize the use of sexually explicit content to extort for personal gain.
“Thousands of women and children are the targets of online sexual extortion, and they need to know that the justice system is on their side," said Clark. "As a mom of three teens, I can only imagine the nightmare parents face realizing their child has fallen victim to an online predator. The Interstate Sextortion Prevention Act ensures that when predators come after women or children—whether in the real world or online—they will be met by the full force of the law.”
Currently, federal law does not explicitly count sextortion as a separate offense, a problem that can lead to unprosecuted or under-prosecuted crimes.
According to Carrie Goldberg, a civil litigator and a board member of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative who contributed to the Brookings Institution’s findings, the offenders are often strangers met online who work patiently and meticulously to earn the victim’s trust over time, and then pounce once they have material for blackmail.
“Victims, who are almost always female, report feeling enslaved, trapped, suicidal,” said Goldberg. “The feeling of helplessness is compounded when they are turned away by law enforcers who don’t have the laws, interest or tools to stop the horror. As a lawyer who fights for victims of online harassment and sexual assault, I can attest to the urgent need for legislation criminalizing coerced sexual acts.”
The Department of Justice recently released a report declaring that, “sextortion is by far the most significantly growing threat to children.” Young victims of sextortion often feel shame and desperation, and reports indicate higher risk of suicide or self-harm. According to a 2015 FBI analysis of 43 sextortion cases involving child victims, at least two victims committed suicide and at least 10 more attempted suicide.
Clark has championed combatting severe online threats and abuse. She successfully earned the U.S. House’s backing to instruct the Department of Justice to investigate severe online threats, and to use existing laws to prosecute these crimes. Clark also introduced the Prioritizing Online Threats Enforcement Act to ensure that federal law enforcement has the resources they need to enforce laws regarding the use of the internet to perpetuate severe threats. And, she’s the author of the Interstate Swatting Hoax Act of 2015, legislation to criminalize hoax calls made to law enforcement to elicit an armed police response.
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