Representatives met with federal & local law enforcement to see how online child predators are caught and discussed how federal legislationcould help. 

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – You’ve seen the horrific headlines about people arrested for being members of a private, members-only online community that was used to promote pedophilia and encourage sexual abuse of young children.

Though law enforcement has been successful in finding some online pedophiles and arresting them, there are many more who are not caught because the data police need to catch these predators is not readily available to them, and in some cases, it’s erased after a few days and gone forever.

On Monday, Nov. 28, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (TX-21) proved that bipartisanship accomplishments are still possible when they met with local Broward law enforcement, FBI investigators, and others to talk about all that goes into discovering and catching online predators. The FBI walked everyone through a mock scenario to show the tools they currently use and some of the obstacles they run into when trying to figure out who is responsible for putting disturbing images of children online.

In May, Chairman Smith and Rep. Wasserman Schultz introduced the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011 (H.R. 1981).  The bill directs Internet Service Providers to retain subscriber information for up to 12 months in order to assist federal law enforcement in online child pornography and child exploitation investigations. This is similar to existing federal law that requires telephone companies to retain caller information for up to 18 months.

The bill would also make it a federal crime to financially facilitate the sale, distribution and purchase of child pornography. It also increases the maximum penalty for certain child pornography offenses.