Georgia senator’s bill to protect kids from online sexual abuse passed by Congress [Video]

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill co-authored by Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff designed to protect children from online sexual abuse and exploitation.

The bill, also authored by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

The bipartisan REPORT Act is designed to strengthen the national tip line run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to collect reports of online exploitation and would require evidence to be preserved for a longer period, giving law enforcement more time to investigate and prosecute crimes.

The bill would require websites and social media platforms to report crimes involving federal trafficking and enticement of children, which they are not currently required to do. The legislation would also increase fines for companies that knowingly and willfully fail to report child sex abuse material on their site. Democratic Georgia U.S. Reps. …