(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Law enforcement in Colorado Springs said they received around 13,000 tips last year over concerns of a child being exploited online. Now, Congress is taking action with a new bill to help prevent this from happening.

The new bill is called the ‘Take It Down Act,’ and requires all platforms to detect and delete images reported by a victim. The legislation would also require action from big tech companies. The bill was passed by the Senate, and is now being considered in the House.

“It’s really becoming more and more of a prevalent problem across the country and also here in Colorado. It can start with things as simple as a child playing a game on the internet or on their Xbox or on their phone, and then they’ll get a message from somebody that will say, “hey, you’re really good at this game,” said LT. Korey Hutchinson with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD).

When social media first came into everyone’s lives, it was surrounded by optimism for helpful tools and the future of communication–unfortunately some people do not use it that way.

“They’ll say, ‘meet me over on this other platform,’ where they start a further discussion and say, ‘I can give you 10,000 points, but you need to do some things for me,’ and that can lead into some illicit conversations,” added Hutchinson. He said it often leads the other person to ask the child for inappropriate pictures of themselves.

The internet quickly became a resource for predators to target children, with an endless stream of platforms to communicate through, sometimes leading to obscene content and financial extortion.

“Then if those photographs are sent, later they’ll come back and say, ‘If you don’t give me $1500 dollars, I’m going to share these photographs with everybody in your family and all your friends,'” said Hutchinson.

Luckily, the efforts underway in Congress aim to make the internet a safer place for children in Colorado and across the nation. The ‘Take It Down Act’ would make it a crime to publish sexual images without the depicted person’s consent, including realistic AI generated images of a person.

“For example: a boyfriend posting his old girlfriend’s nudes online, he could still be held accountable under this act, even if the nudes were initially created consensually,” said Marcel Van Der Watt, President of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

The bill would also mandate the quick removal of those images by big tech companies within a 48 hour time span.

“The moment at which they realize that the images are in the hands of a criminal, and they receive the threat and the request for money, and if they [the child] don’t give the money, they say the images will be shared wider with the public, with friends, teachers, etc.,” said Van Der Watt.

President Donald Trump has not said if he would sign the bill into law if it passes in the House, but advocates said if he does, it could save lives.

“It’s incredibly traumatic. I mean, you can think about the notion of a digital tattoo. It’s out there and it’s out there forever. So, this is an acute sense of humiliation and trauma that a lot of these victims of image-based sexual abuse walk around with and carry with them,” said Van Der Watt.

Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper is a co-sponsor of the bill, which was introduced by Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Experts said it is crucial for parents to stay alert:

“If they do come to you and say, ‘hey, this is happening to me,’ be supportive, they’re going to be scared, they’re going to be worried, they’re going to be embarrassed. Those are hard things for kids to bring to their parents, be supportive. Let them know that you’re there to support them and that you will do whatever you can to help them and then walk them through what the next steps are going to be,” said Hutchinson.

As children have their hands on technology at younger and younger ages, experts say parents should monitor their screen time and their devices. If your child begins acting differently or showing signs that something is wrong, act as soon as possible.

If you or anyone you know is being sexually exploited, resources are available.

CSPD also offers internet safety classes for parents and kids of all ages.