Congress criminalizes sextortion threats, adds 10-year sentence boost
S. 3398 — Stop Sextortion Act · Filed by Chuck Grassley (R-IA) · 18 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 9, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal criminal law to make it illegal to threaten to distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM) with intent to intimidate, coerce, extort, or cause emotional distress—even if no actual CSAM exists. It adds 10-year sentence enhancements when CSAM is used to threaten or extort victims. The bill directly targets sextortion: criminals who coerce minors or adults by threatening to share explicit images.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to expand federal criminal liability for sextortion threats and increase penalties. It is a straightforward public-safety measure with no market or private-benefit component.
What the text implies
- Criminalizes threats even when no actual CSAM exists, shifting burden to prosecutors to prove intent rather than possession—may broaden enforcement reach.
- 10-year sentence enhancements stack on top of base sentences under 18 U.S.C. § 2252/2252A, potentially creating sentences of 20+ years for sextortion-specific conduct.
- Applies to threats made 'with intent to intimidate, coerce, extort, or cause substantial emotional distress'—the emotional distress prong is broad and may capture edge cases beyond traditional extortion.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates new criminal liability for sextortion threats and enhances penalties, directly protecting victims—especially minors—from a growing form of sexual exploitation and extortion. No countervailing cost to ordinary citizens is apparent; the restrictions apply only to criminal conduct.
Named in the bill
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Sentencing Commission, 18 U.S.C. § 2252 (child pornography), 18 U.S.C. § 2252A (child pornography), 18 U.S.C. § 1466A (obscene material), 18 U.S.C. § 2260A (sex offender penalties), 18 U.S.C. § 875(d) (extortion)
Where it stands
18 cosponsors: 9 Democrats, 8 Republicans, 1 Independents.
- Dec 9, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Dec 9, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
4 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $7,264,111 in lobbying spend. A filing names 20 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.
Chuck Grassley, the sponsor, reported $52,667 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Google Client Services LLC — $6,920,000 on 2 filings
- Snap Inc. — $240,000 on 1 filing
- Internet Works — $90,000 on 2 filings
- The Sentencing Project — $14,111 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,188 characters) on Oct 26, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,580 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-26.
“Congress criminalizes sextortion threats, adds 10-year sentence boost” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s3398 Report an error
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