ECCHO Act

The proposed legislation, titled the "Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online" or "ECCHO Act," creates a new federal criminal offense targeting the intentional coercion of minors to commit harmful acts. This bill aims to protect children by criminalizing the use of various manipulative tactics, such as extortion, threats, fraud, deceit, duress, intimidation, harassment, humiliation, degradation, or manipulation, to compel a minor to engage in dangerous behaviors. The offense applies when such coercion occurs using mail, interstate or foreign commerce, or within U.S. maritime and territorial jurisdiction. Specifically, the bill makes it unlawful to coerce a minor, directly or indirectly, to commit suicide or attempt suicide , or to kill or attempt to kill any individual . It also criminalizes coercing a minor to harm animals, including pets, emotional support animals, service animals, or horses, or to inflict serious bodily injury upon any individual or animal. Furthermore, the legislation prohibits coercing a minor to commit arson or certain "covered acts" like doxxing (publishing PII for harassment), swatting (false emergency reports for SWAT response), or making false reports about active threats. Penalties for violating this new law are severe, with those coercing a minor to commit suicide or homicide facing fines and imprisonment for any term of years or life. Other offenses under this act, such as coercing animal harm, bodily injury, arson, doxxing, or swatting, carry penalties of fines and imprisonment for up to 30 years. The bill also includes extensive conforming amendments, integrating this new offense into existing federal statutes related to child exploitation, online safety, and juvenile justice, thereby broadening the scope of protections for children.