Together, these legislative priorities aim to create a legislative framework that prioritizes prevention, survivor support, and accountability for those who perpetrate exploitation. We believe that by aligning laws with the lived experiences of survivors, we can create lasting change and move toward a world without exploitation.
Victory! The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act is now law!
Survivors of human trafficking are often criminalized for situations stemming from their trafficking experiences. Across the U.S., the majority of states have passed criminal record relief for convictions in the state criminal system.
Before the TSRA was signed into law, survivors with federal records had no pathway to clear these records. Now, for the first time, trafficking survivors can clear their federal criminal records. The TSRA also provides comprehensive relief for trafficking survivors, including legal remedies, financial compensation, and access to vital services. This act ensures that survivors are empowered to rebuild their lives and pursue justice without being further victimized by legal or systemic barriers.
For legal assistance with federal vacatur, please contact info@worldwithoutexploitation.org.
Big tech continues to prioritize profit over our children’s well-being. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is the most comprehensive legislation to protect children online pending before Congress, aiming to shift Big Tech’s profit-driven models to children’s protection. KOSA creates a ‘duty of care’ that requires social media companies to place children’s needs at the center of their design. This ensures minors are not exposed to harmful or exploitative material online by requiring that their accounts default to the safest privacy settings, disable private messaging from strangers, and shield them from addictive algorithms. It is time to give our children the protection they deserve; it is time to pass KOSA!
Click here to view The WorldWE Youth Coalition’s campaign on the harms of social media.
Why WorldWE does not support the House version of KOSA (H.R.7757)
We are incredibly disappointed in the new House version of the Kids Online Safety Act. Every day, children are being negatively impacted by social media—predators have unfettered access to sexually exploit children online, children are exposed to harmful content promoting suicide and eating disorders, and the normalization of the digital sex trade continues to rise.
Yet, Big Tech doesn’t care as long as it fuels their profits, and this version of KOSA allows exactly that. Not only does this version gut the duty of care, but it also adds a preemption clause that prevents states from passing any child safety legislation.
That being said, we do not support this version of KOSA in the House and will continue to advocate for passage of the Senate version. We must hold Big Tech accountable for putting profits over children’s safety.
Victory! The Epstein Files Transparency Act is now law!
The Epstein Files Transparency Act calls on the Attorney General to release all unclassified records involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and others who have long been shielded by their power and privilege. This legislation puts survivors first by protecting their identities while ensuring that everyone who enabled, facilitated, or profited from exploitation is held accountable.
The DEFIANCE Act of 2025 (Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consenual Edits Act) addresses the issue of non-consenual sexually-explicit deepfakes. This bill holds individuals accountable for creating, distributing, or soliciting such content. Victims of non-consenual deepfakes are granted a civil legal right of action against those who are responsible for the proliferation of these harmful and exploitative images. It is time to ensure victims of non-consenual deepfakes are granted the federal protections they deserve.
The Stop CSAM Act creates a new federal civil right of action to allow victims to sue platforms that knowingly host, promote, or fail to remove their child sexual abuse material (CSAM), ensuring survivors have their day in court. It closes longstanding Section 230 loopholes by narrowing platform immunity for companies that knowingly facilitate the distribution of CSAM, making clear that platforms can no longer hide behind blanket legal protections when they fail to act. The bill also strengthens reporting and transparency requirements by mandating annual transparency reports on CSAM detection and removal and requiring faster reporting to the CyberTipline so law enforcement can act quickly to rescue children. Finally, it supports victims through the legal process by authorizing $25 million for guardians ad litem to represent child victims in federal court and $15 million for restitution trustees to help survivors collect court-ordered compensation.
Victory! The Take It Down Act is now law!
The TAKE IT Down Act was signed into law with bipartisan support on May 19, 2025, officially criminalizing the publication and distribution of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) at the federal level! IBSA consists of the weaponization of sexually explicit or sexualized images or videos. Platforms are now required to remove non-consensual content within 48 hours of receiving notice from a survivor. This historic victory finally grants survivors the rights they deserve, ensures their protection online, and marks a significant step toward holding big tech accountable.
Virginia’s Law is named in honor of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was a brave survivor and advocate for justice. This legislation eliminates the statute of limitations for federal civil claims by adult survivors of trafficking and exploitation, creates new federal civil remedies for victims of certain sexual abuse and sexual exploitation crimes, allows victims to sue not only perpetrators but also those who knowingly benefit from the abuse, and provides a one-year “look-back” window to revive certain previously time-barred claims.
1. Creates new federal civil causes of action: The bill allows survivors of certain federal sex crimes to file civil lawsuits directly against the perpetrator, and anyone who knowingly benefited financially or otherwise from the abuse or trafficking venture. Survivors can seek damages and attorneys’ fees in federal court. This applies to: federal sexual abuse crimes, transportation for illegal sexual activity and related offenses, forced labor, trafficking, and sex trafficking violations
2. Eliminates statutes of limitations for the most serious offenses: For major federal crimes (including trafficking and certain sexual abuse offenses), the bill removes time limits entirely — meaning survivors can sue at any time.
3. Expands where survivors can file: The bill clarifies that survivors may sue in any federal district court that could hear a related criminal case, helping address jurisdictional barriers (especially relevant in trafficking cases spanning multiple locations).
4. Includes a one-year “look-back window”: Survivors whose claims were previously time-barred — including cases dismissed because of expired deadlines — may re-file during a one-year period after enactment.
In practice, the bill aims to:
“We need to make it easier to punish those who victimize others. I want to eliminate laws that limit the period in which survivors can seek justice for their abuser.” - Virginia Giuffre, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
The Sunset Section 230 Act phases out Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230, enacted in 1996, provides online platforms with immunity from liability for most user-generated content while allowing them to moderate content in good faith. It has been central to the development of the modern internet, but has faced growing criticism as large technology companies have gained influence over online discourse.
S.3546 is a response to concerns that Section 230 no longer reflects today’s internet, where algorithm-driven platforms curate and amplify content at a massive scale, often spreading misinformation, harmful content, and fueling sexual exploitation. It seeks to compel Congress to revisit and modernize the legal framework governing online platforms, reflecting the current digital environment.
The Sunset Section 230 Act is the solution to finally hold Big Tech accountable and protect children online, provide survivors the opportunity for justice, and prevent online exploitation that has gone unchecked for far too long.
Victory! The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act is now law!
Survivors of human trafficking are often criminalized for situations stemming from their trafficking experiences. Across the U.S., the majority of states have passed criminal record relief for convictions in the state criminal system.
Before the TSRA was signed into law, survivors with federal records had no pathway to clear these records. Now, for the first time, trafficking survivors can clear their federal criminal records. The TSRA also provides comprehensive relief for trafficking survivors, including legal remedies, financial compensation, and access to vital services. This act ensures that survivors are empowered to rebuild their lives and pursue justice without being further victimized by legal or systemic barriers.
For legal assistance with federal vacatur, please contact info@worldwithoutexploitation.org.
Big tech continues to prioritize profit over our children’s well-being. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is the most comprehensive legislation to protect children online pending before Congress, aiming to shift Big Tech’s profit-driven models to children’s protection. KOSA creates a ‘duty of care’ that requires social media companies to place children’s needs at the center of their design. This ensures minors are not exposed to harmful or exploitative material online by requiring that their accounts default to the safest privacy settings, disable private messaging from strangers, and shield them from addictive algorithms. It is time to give our children the protection they deserve; it is time to pass KOSA!
Click here to view The WorldWE Youth Coalition’s campaign on the harms of social media.
Victory! The Epstein Files Transparency Act is now law!
The Epstein Files Transparency Act calls on the Attorney General to release all unclassified records involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and others who have long been shielded by their power and privilege. This legislation puts survivors first by protecting their identities while ensuring that everyone who enabled, facilitated, or profited from exploitation is held accountable.
The DEFIANCE Act of 2025 (Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consenual Edits Act) addresses the issue of non-consenual sexually-explicit deepfakes. This bill holds individuals accountable for creating, distributing, or soliciting such content. Victims of non-consenual deepfakes are granted a civil legal right of action against those who are responsible for the proliferation of these harmful and exploitative images. It is time to ensure victims of non-consenual deepfakes are granted the federal protections they deserve.
Victory! The Take It Down Act is now law!
The TAKE IT Down Act was signed into law with bipartisan support on May 19, 2025, officially criminalizing the publication and distribution of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) at the federal level! IBSA consists of the weaponization of sexually explicit or sexualized images or videos. Platforms are now required to remove non-consensual content within 48 hours of receiving notice from a survivor. This historic victory finally grants survivors the rights they deserve, ensures their protection online, and marks a significant step toward holding big tech accountable.
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© World Without Exploitation
World Without Exploitation is a fiscally-sponsored project of the Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tides’ state-by-state fundraising disclosures are available at: www.tides.org/state-nonprofit-disclosures/
Survivor stories © The Voices and Faces Project Survivor photography: Lynn Savarese, Photographer and Co-Founder, New Abolitionists
Additional photography © Patricia Evans, The Voices and Faces Project • Natalie Naccache, Art Works for Change
