Overview
- Sen. Josh Hawley notified Sundar Pichai that the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism has launched a formal investigation into Google and YouTube over CSAM.
- Witnesses at a Hawley-led hearing described more than 100 million suspected CSAM images and videos reported in 2023 and at least 89,000 unidentified children in one law enforcement database.
- The document demand covers internal policies, victim complaints, CyberTipline reporting by product since 2020, staffing and budgets for Trust and Safety, and any limits on detection tools such as hash-matching or AI.
- Investigators also seek records of cases where reported CSAM was not removed within 48 hours, details on cooperation with law enforcement, and findings from any internal audits since 2020.
- A survivor’s mother testified she was told to contact a webmaster to remove images tied to her child, while Hawley urged Congress to pass legislation enabling victims to sue tech platforms.