Grief in the Face of Victory
By: Lori L. Cohen, PACT CEO
Last month, I was privileged to represent PACT at the White House bill signing ceremony for the Take It Down ACT. This groundbreaking law seeks to prevent online exploitation and abuse by imposing criminal penalties for those who distribute or threaten to distribute sexually explicit images without consent. It also requires social media platforms to remove those images within 48 hours of reporting. Importantly, these provisions apply to both “real” photos and those generated by AI. This is a step forward in protecting both children and adults from something called sexual extortion, a form of abuse where predators threaten to post these images online unless the victim sends more pictures, performs sexual acts, or pays money.
In many ways, the ceremony couldn’t have been more perfect. The weather was glorious, sunny, but not too hot. It could have been a perfect day, except for the absence of those who could not attend because they are no longer with us. Elijah Heacock, a 16-year old football player from Kentucky, lost his life because of a sexual extortion scam from which he could not escape. Just before the bill signing, his mother, Shannon, gifted me his photograph, a striking image of an earnest young man whose life was tragically cut short. She has printed hundreds of these photographs, each carrying a handwritten note on the back, that she and her husband have been sharing at gas stations, diners, and now, the White House. Each message is slightly different, but the request is the same:
Hi, my name is Elijah Heacock, 16 from KY.
On Feb 28, 25, I lost my life to sextortion.
My family now is sharing my story to save another child.
Please search my name and share my story!
Taking in the giddiness surrounding the signing of this hard-won bill, I grasped Elijah’s photograph and wished that his grieving family had not needed to make the 10-hour drive from Kentucky in hopes that no other child would die as theirs had. Before Elijah’s death, his parents had never heard of sexual extortion or that criminals were using social media to manipulate children like their son. Elijah’s rural school lacked the tools and education that could have prevented this senseless tragedy. PACT must be there for Elijah’s siblings, and for children across this country in need of information to keep them safe from Internet predators.
I’m immensely grateful to the members of PACT’s Survivors’ Council, whose courage and advocacy were pivotal in passing this legislation, and to our partners in Congress who helped bring it to life. At the same time, I mourn with the Heacock family and every family who has lost a child to this crime. How to celebrate this victory while bearing witness to the worst nightmare for every one of us who has loved a child? This victory will not bring back Elijah or any of the boys and girls whose lives were stolen from them.
Take It Down is a critical first step, but it cannot be the last. While identifying and prosecuting the blackmailers is crucial, we must also hold social media platforms accountable and push Congress to enact common-sense legislation that protects children online. Earlier this year, two key bills were reintroduced: the STOP CSAM Act, which would increase platform accountability and expand justice for victims, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would require platforms to take steps to reduce online risks for children such as exposure to online bullying and harmful content such as posts suggesting disordered eating. With the continued support of the Survivors’ Council, whose lived experience and powerful testimonies have been critical in moving the needle forward, we will continue to advocate fiercely for both.
Resources:
To watch PACT’s educational PSA video about internet safety, click here.
To view the Parent Guide to Better Protect Your Child from Online Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking, click here.
To learn more about the Social Identity Quest, click here.