HARRISBURG – The Senate voted today to create a new task force to help keep young people safe from potential threats online, according to one of the co-authors of the measure, Senator Scott Martin (R-Lancaster).
Senate Resolution 244 establishes a new Task Force on Child Protection in the Digital Age, which will review Pennsylvania’s existing statutes, assess emerging technologies, and identify gaps in protections for children online.
“Young people face threats online today that were unthinkable just a few years ago, from harmful chat bots to dangerously sophisticated sextortion and child trafficking schemes, to name just a few,” Martin said. “We have made tremendous progress in recent years to protect young people against these dangers. This new task force will help make sure we keep pace with new and emerging threats young people face every time they look at their phone or computer.”
The Task Force on Child Protection in the Digital Age will be responsible for issuing a report and recommendations to the General Assembly every two years to ensure statutes designed to protect children are continually examined and reevaluated, Martin said.
The proposal builds on work by the legislature to address digital harms to children. In 2021, the General Assembly established the Task Force on Child Pornography, which led to significant reforms, including updates to statutory terminology to align with national standards. In 2024, the General Assembly passed Act 125 of 2024 to combat AI generated child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). In 2025, legislation to classify deepfakes as digital forgery was signed into law as Act 35 of 2025.
The Senate also recently approved Senate Bill 1050, which would strengthen reporting requirements for AI-generated CSAM, and Senate Bill 1090, which would establish commonsense safeguards for AI chatbots accessible by minors.
Senate Resolution 244 directs the Joint State Government Commission to create the new task force and include experts in law enforcement and child protection. The first report and recommendations are expected to be presented to policymakers in November 2027.