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PRINTER'S NO. 1098
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 136
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY MARTIN, PENNYCUICK, FARRY, BROWN, ROTHMAN,
BOSCOLA, CULVER, KANE, LAUGHLIN, PHILLIPS-HILL, PISCIOTTANO,
SANTARSIERO, VOGEL AND J. WARD, JULY 31, 2025
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JULY 31, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Designating the week of August 17 through 23, 2025, as "Social
Media Safety and Parental Awareness Week" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Sextortion is a rapidly growing form of online child
exploitation in which predators coerce victims into sharing
explicit images or videos and then threaten to distribute the
content unless specific demands are met; and
WHEREAS, In 2024, the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children's CyberTipline received 20.5 million reports
of suspected child sexual exploitation; and
WHEREAS, This number includes 546,000 cases of online
enticement, a 192% increase from 2023; and
WHEREAS, Among persons under 28 years of age, exposure to
sexual imagery began around 13 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Among teens, one in five have experienced
sextortion; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 17% of teen victims were 12 years of
age or younger when first sextorted; and
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WHEREAS, Teenage boys, 13 to 17 years of age, are most
frequently targeted; and
WHEREAS, Victims as young as 8 years of age have been
reported; and
WHEREAS, While boys comprise the majority of sextortion
victims, there has been a 2,600% increase in reports involving
girls; and
WHEREAS, The threat to children and teens is rapidly
expanding across all demographics; and
WHEREAS, Reports involving artificial intelligence (AI),
including deepfake images used for online abuse, grew by 1,325%
in 2024, with more than 67,000 incidents on record; and
WHEREAS, Predators increasingly use AI to impersonate victims
or to generate fake explicit images and fake job postings as
part of larger sextortion and trafficking schemes; and
WHEREAS, Affected children and teens may experience severe
psychological trauma; and
WHEREAS, Among young victims, one in seven reported self-harm
in response to sextortion attempts; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 81% of sextortion incidents occur
entirely online through social media and messaging platforms;
and
WHEREAS, Approximately 98% of sextortion incidents are never
reported to law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, While most platforms require users to be at least 13
years of age, nearly 40% of children 8 to 12 years of age are
already using social media; and
WHEREAS, Beyond this, 95% of teens 13 to 17 years of age are
using at least one social media platform; and
WHEREAS, These numbers highlight the growing exposure of
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minors to online environments at increasingly younger ages; and
WHEREAS, Awareness among parents, schools, law enforcement
and students is essential to protecting young people from the
dangers of social media; and
WHEREAS, The beginning of the school year presents an
important opportunity for families and communities to consider
online safety and other protective behaviors; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the week of August 17
through 23, 2025, as "Social Media Safety and Parental Awareness
Week" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate encourage engagement in educational
programming and public awareness efforts that prevent
sextortion, protect minors from online exploitation and
highlight the dangers of social media as students prepare to
return to school in our communities.
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