PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025

The PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025 would extend funding and update two key federal initiatives aimed at combating child exploitation. First, it would reauthorize the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction through fiscal year 2028 while streamlining its requirements. Rather than updating the strategy every two years with 19 specific elements, the bill would require updates every four years with 9 consolidated elements, focusing on current trends, challenges, and the overall scope of child exploitation threats.

Second, the bill would strengthen the National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, which coordinates state and local law enforcement efforts to investigate online sexual exploitation of children. The bill would require these task forces to expand their investigative capacity to identify child victims and report victim numbers in annual reports. Additionally, it would provide legal protections for task forces against civil lawsuits or criminal charges related to their decisions on internet crimes against children cases. The bill would also require the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide more detailed information to law enforcement when referring cases of online child exploitation for investigation.