A panel of California lawmakers on Tuesday advanced state legislation that would crack down on online exploitation activity that targets minors.
The bill, titled the Protecting Our Children From Online Extortion Act, would create a new criminal offense for adults who coerce or persuade a minor to harass or exploit another minor. It would close a loophole, state Sen. Tony Strickland (R) said, because currently California law avoids criminalizing consensual sex or interactions between minors.
“Right now, our laws are a step behind,” Strickland said. “These networks are growing rapidly.”
Orange County Sherriff Don Barnes said it would target groups like the notorious gang called 764, an online terror cult that blackmails minors into sex acts, self-harm, and animal torture. Over 350 investigations are linked to the group, the FBI said in February.
In one local case, an adult coerced a 12-year-old boy into having sex with his 10-year-old sister through a gaming platform, Barnes said. Another case occurred where a 15-year-old child, part of an online group, called in a bomb threat and active shooter threat.
“Gaps in current law hinder investigations,” the sheriff said. “Adults can be charged for a direct exploitation or extortion, but there is no clear charge when a minor is manipulated to exploit another minor.”
Opponents, such as the state Public Defenders Association, worry the bill would wrongly criminalize youthful behavior and said that many laws on the books already deal with the issue of minors being forced to engage in illegal acts.
The underlying issue is with identifying perpetrators in an online environment, said George Parampathu, attorney with ACLU California Action.
“The most direct answer to this issue is to require the corporations who are operating and making a profit of these online forums to put in place policies to protect children from these crimes,” he said.
Barnes said federal law shields platforms from posted content. “I don’t disagree that needs to be addressed, but that’s not something that can be addressed in this building,” he said.
The legislation received the support of Democrats and will head to another panel for fiscal analysis. Lawmakers have until end of August to pass out bills to the governor.
“We have treated youth differently than we treat adults, but some of the behavior that has created issues of safety in the community, I think have to be addressed and addressed aggressively,” said state Sen. Anna Caballero (D).
