Bryce was only 15 years old when he died by suicide. He had received messages by someone who claimed to be a 17-year-old girl who lived in his area. The “girl” flirted with him and sent him sexual images, inviting him to send some in return. The moment Bryce complied, things changed. The “girl,” who was really an adult scammer, demanded Bryce pay $500, or else his sexual photos would be released to the public, his family, and his friends.
Bryce only had $30. He couldn’t pay. So he ended his own life.
Bryce is one of numerous youth who have died as a result of sextortion. Experts have called sextortion “the largest blackmail operation in human history.” It is mortally endangering children and poses a national security threat.
That’s why NCOSE delivered a briefing to agencies at the White House in November 2025, with recommendations on how to combat sextortion. Now, our recommendations are being implemented.
This week, the White House announced a new federal program authorizing vetted private cybersecurity companies to conduct offensive operations against sextortion networks and other transnational criminal organizations engaged in cyber-enabled crime. This coincides with a key recommendation from NCOSE’s 2025 briefing—to “authorize private companies to hack sextortion criminal networks, destroying extorted images and returning funds.”
The new program builds on previous progress from March, when the White House also issued an executive order in March on combatting cybercrime, including sextortion.
These are powerful steps forward. As a nonpartisan organization committed to working with all administrations on ending sexual exploitation, NCOSE welcomes this announcement and looks forward to seeing the fruit that comes from it.
The Fight Against Sexual Exploitation Transcends Political & Ideological Divides
Sextortion: What is it and Whom Does it Impact?
Sextortion involves threatening to expose sexual images of someone if they don’t yield to demands. The images may be AI-generated, stolen, coerced, or originally consensually shared with a specific individual. Perpetrators may demand money, further sexual acts or images from the victim, or other things of value.
An estimated 1 in 4 minors and 1 in 7 adults experience some form of sextortion. Teenage boys are disproportionately victimized, accounting for 90% of financial sextortion cases involving minors. Those targeted in sextortion schemes often die by suicide, sometimes within hours of first contact from the perpetrator.
We are hopeful that the new federal program will make a difference in combatting this rapidly growing crime. By putting America’s private-sector cyber talent to work, under strict federal oversight, the government can move at the necessary speed and scale to disrupt sextortionist infrastructure, protecting victims before more damage is done.
Thank you for your commitment to this bipartisan fight! Issues like sextortion and sexual exploitation know no political or ideological bounds; in a divided world, we must stand together and unite against this nefarious crime and the threat it poses to children, to adults, and to our country.
