WASHINGTON, DC (December 18, 2025) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) hailed the introduction of the Sunset Section 230 Act as an urgent measure to restore a path to justice for survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation.
“It is time to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency — the greatest enabler of online sexual abuse and exploitation. Misinterpretations of Section 230 have given Big Tech immunity for facilitating sexual abuse and exploitation. As a result, online criminality has flourished, and survivors have been denied justice. Until Section 230 is repealed, tech platforms have no incentive to make their platforms safe,” said Dani Pinter, Chief Legal Officer and Director of the Law Center for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“Section 230 must be repealed to hold Big Tech accountable, to give survivors access to justice, and to prevent online sexual abuse and exploitation at mass scale. We are encouraged to see the bipartisan support for the Sunset Section 230 Act and urge Congress to pass this crucial legislation.”
Section 230 was named as the primary target of NCOSE’s 2025 Dirty Dozen List of mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation. NCOSE highlighted 12 survivors who were silenced by Section 230, Big Tech’s liability shield that enabled their abuse. Some of those stories include:
–John stared at the screen, his heart sinking as he saw the explicit images of himself as a 13-year-old circulating on Twitter, a platform that dismissed his reports for help with the chilling message, “We’ve reviewed the content, and didn’t find a violation of our policies, so no action will be taken at this time.” Doe #1 v. Twitter, Inc., No. 22-15103, No. 22-15104, 2023 WL 3220912, at *1 (9th Cir. May 3, 2023).
–She was sex trafficked by a stranger she met on Instagram over the course of one year. He was criminally convicted and sentenced to 40 years, but Instagram – the platform that connected them – evades liability. Doe (K.B.) v. Backpage.com, LLC, 2025 WL 719080, Case No. 23-cv-02387-RFL (N.D. Cal. Mar. 3, 2025).
–She was 12. A convicted predator used Snapchat to groom her into producing exploitive images (CSAM) through the app, and even traveled to her home. Snapchat failed to detect or remove the CSAM, which could have prevented her further abuse. L.W. v. Snap Inc., 675 F. Supp. 3d 1087 (S.D. Cal. 2023).
The Sunset Section 230 Act was introduced by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), and is being cosponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ashley Moody (R-FL), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
