# PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025 - Plain Language Summary

## What This Bill Does

This bill renews and updates the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, which is a federal law focused on fighting child exploitation and abuse. The bill extends the program's authorization (giving it legal permission and funding to continue operating) and makes several updates to how the government tracks and combats crimes against children, particularly those committed online.

## Key Changes

The main updates include:

- **Longer planning cycles**: The government will now create comprehensive strategies to fight child exploitation every four years instead of every two years, allowing for longer-term planning.

- **Expanded strategy requirements**: The federal government must now develop detailed plans that address current and future threats (including new technologies), coordinate between different agencies and law enforcement levels, and work with private companies and international partners.

- **Better resource tracking**: The bill requires detailed reporting on funding, staffing, and performance metrics across multiple federal agencies involved in fighting child exploitation, including the FBI, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

- **Focus on the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force**: The bill emphasizes tracking the performance of task forces that specifically investigate online crimes against children, including arrest rates, prosecutions, and coordination between federal, state, and local authorities.

## Who Is Affected

This bill primarily affects law enforcement agencies and prosecutors working to combat child exploitation. Indirectly, it aims to protect children by improving coordination and resources dedicated to investigating and prosecuting crimes against minors.

PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025

Cornyn, John

PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025 &nbsp; This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 and updates (1) the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction (National Strategy), and (2) the National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program.With respect to the National Strategy, current law requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to update the strategy every two years and include 19 specific elements in the strategy (e.g., long-range goals, annual measurable objectives, and future trends). This bill requires DOJ to update the National Strategy every four years. The bill also revises and consolidates the 19 required elements into 9 required elements, including an analysis of current trends and challenges as well as the overall magnitude of the threat of child exploitation.The ICAC Task Force Program is a national network of task forces that support state and local efforts to investigate and prosecute the online sexual exploitation of children. This bill requires ICAC task forces to increase the investigative capacity of law enforcement to identify child victims and report the number of child victims identified in their annual reports. The bill also limits the liability of ICAC task forces for civil claims or criminal charges in federal or state court arising from decisions with respect to leads related to internet crimes against children.Finally, the bill requires the National Center for Missing &amp; Exploited Children to provide additional information to law enforcement agencies when it refers a report of online sexual exploitation of children for investigation.&nbsp;