Rep. Laurel Lee Introduces Safe Cloud Storage Act to Help Law Enforcement Combat Child Exploitation
Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R–FL) introduced the Safe Cloud Storage Act, legislation designed to help law enforcement agencies modernize how they securely store and process digital evidence related to child sexual exploitation investigations. Rep. Lee is joined by Representatives Steve Cohen (D–TN), Madeleine Dean (D–PA), and Brad Knott (R–NC) as House co-leads on the legislation. A companion bill is being led in the Senate by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R–TN) and Amy Klobuchar (D–MN). As the volume of digital evidence containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) continues to grow, law enforcement agencies across the country are facing increasing challenges in storing, transferring, and analyzing this highly sensitive evidence. Many investigators are still forced to rely on outdated physical storage tools—such as thumb drives, external hard drives, and on-premise servers—which are costly, limited in capacity, and significantly slow down investigations. The Safe Cloud Storage Act builds on the framework established by the REPORT Act, which provided limited liability protections for vendors contracted by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to store and transfer CSAM for investigative purposes. Rep. Lee’s legislation extends similar protections to other vetted, law enforcement–approved third-party vendors who assist investigators in securely handling digital evidence. “Identifying victims and bringing predators to justice requires modern investigative tools,”said Representative Lee. “The Safe Cloud Storage Act updates how law enforcement securely handles digital evidence, allowing investigators to partner with trusted technology providers while maintaining strong safeguards and accountability.” “Those helping law enforcement in the fight against child sexual exploitation must be able to securely store evidence of these horrific crimes,” said Senator Blackburn. “Our bipartisan Safe Cloud Storage Act would ensure investigators can securely handle and store CSAM evidence in the cloud by providing limited liability protections. With this critical bill, we will continue our work to bring predators to justice and protect vulnerable children.” “We must do everything we can to protect our children from online exploitation and abuse,” said Senator Klobuchar. “Our commonsense, bipartisan bill would improve investigations and prosecutions by allowing law enforcement to safely store and transmit evidence using cloud systems – saving time and resources.” “I’m proud to work with Representative Lee on this important legislation that will modernize evidence handling for some of the most horrific and sensitive cases,” said Representative Knott. “It will enable more efficient convictions of heinous offenders, bring justice for victims, and apply strict standards for the handling and protection of sensitive evidence.” “The volume of evidence in child sexual abuse cases requires the kinds of third-party liability protections the Safe Cloud Act would provide,” said Representative Cohen. “I am pleased to join with Congresswoman Laurel Lee, a recognized expert in this area of the law, as a co-lead of this important and protective legislation.” “We must do everything in our power to protect children from abuse and prosecute those who commit such despicable crimes — that include modernizing how law enforcement stores sensitive information so they can better purse justice,” Representative Dean said. “Many police departments still rely on older technology like thumb drives to store materials for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) investigations. Our bipartisan bill is a commonsense measure to enable law enforcement to securely use cloud-based storage, making arrests for online child exploitation more efficient. I’m grateful to my colleagues in the House and Senate for working on this important legislation.” By enabling secure cloud-based storage and analysis of digital evidence, the legislation will help investigators process evidence more efficiently, reduce investigative delays, and strengthen the ability of law enforcement to identify victims and prosecute offenders. The bill includes strict guardrails to ensure accountability and data security. Liability protections do not apply in cases of intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or malicious acts. In addition, vendors covered by the legislation must comply with rigorous cybersecurity standards consistent with guidelines from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Safe Cloud Storage Act is supported by a broad coalition of law enforcement and child protection organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Raven, Thorn, the International Justice Mission, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Child Rescue Coalition, the National District Attorneys Association, the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies,, and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “At Child Rescue Coalition, our innovative technology empowers law enforcement to identify and arrest child predators faster and more effectively. The SCSA strengthens and modernizes how law enforcement can securely store, share, and interact with CSAM, accelerating the identification of offenders and the rescue of victims,”Greg Schiller, CEO, Child Rescue Coalition. “This bill reinforces trust, accountability, and innovation, ensuring critical safeguards evolve alongside the technology law enforcement relies on every day to protect children.” “The National Fraternal Order of Police strongly supports the Safe Cloud Storage Act. This important piece of legislation safeguards law enforcement investigations, protects officers and witnesses, and maintains public trust,” said National President Patrick Yoes. “The FOP is grateful to the leadership of Representatives Lee and Cohen, who understand the importance of enhanced protections amidst evolving advancements in modern policing and technology. “The Safe Cloud Storage Act is a critical step forward in modernizing how law enforcement investigates child sexual exploitation,” said Jennifer Dunton, Director of Legislative Affairs at Raven. “By authorizing secure, cloud-based storage for CSAM evidence, this bill ensures that investigators can move cases faster, identify victims sooner, and hold offenders accountable, all while maintaining the highest cybersecurity standards. RAVEN strongly supports this effort to give law enforcement the 21st-century tools they need to protect children online.” “The Safe Cloud Storage Act will modernize and accelerate CSAM investigations conducted by law enforcement,” said Nate King, Director of Policy and Advocacy at International Justice Mission. “This needed legislation builds upon recently increased reporting requirements through the REPORT Act by ensuring that law enforcement-approved vendors who assist in CSAM investigations can legally and securely store evidence that is critical to holding perpetrators accountable, including U.S.-based CSAM offenders who direct and consume live child sexual abuse of children in countries like the Philippines,” “The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is proud to support the Safe Cloud Storage Act and thanks Representative Lee, Representative Cohen, Representative Knott, and Representative Dean for introducing this important piece of legislation. The bill will modernize law enforcement’s use of advanced technologies, enabling more streamlined investigations of cases of child sexual exploitation. We look forward to working with the bill’s sponsors to see this legislation advance,” said Michelle DeLaune, CEO of NCMEC. Key Provisions of the Safe Cloud Storage Act:
By modernizing how investigators securely manage digital evidence, the Safe Cloud Storage Act helps law enforcement move faster, protect victims sooner, and bring perpetrators of child exploitation to justice. |