COP Act

The Combating Online Predators Act, also known as the COP Act, amends Title 18 of the United States Code to enhance protections against the sexual exploitation of minors. This legislation specifically addresses the coercive practice of threatening to disseminate existing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to compel a minor to create new content. The bill establishes a new federal offense for knowingly distributing, offering, sending, or providing a threat to distribute a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, or a person believed to be a minor engaging in such conduct. This prohibition applies when the threat is made with the explicit intent that the minor, or perceived minor, will subsequently create or transmit additional sexually explicit visual depictions. By criminalizing these specific threats, the Act aims to deter the creation of new CSAM and safeguard vulnerable individuals from further exploitation.