Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) celebrated the House’s recent passage of her law enforcement bill aimed at modernizing how officials handle evidence in child abuse cases.
“Every minute matters when law enforcement is working to identify a child being exploited and bring the predator to justice,” Rep. Lee said. “Our investigators should have access to modern, secure technology that helps them do that work as quickly and effectively as possible."
The Safe Cloud Storage Act
Introduced in March 2026, the bipartisan Safe Cloud Storage Act seeks to help law enforcement agencies overhaul how they securely store and process digital evidence related to child sexual exploitation investigations.
It does so by limiting the civil and criminal liability of digital storage vendors who work with these agencies – through services like cloud-based storage – to store, maintain, and process child sexual abuse material (CSAM) during these investigations.
The bill addresses a growing law enforcement issue: reliance on physical storage systems like thumb drives, external hard drives, and local servers to manage evidence.
The legislation removes a legal barrier that has prevented these agencies from working with cloud service providers while ensuring strict security and accountability requirements.
Prominence of Child Sexual Exploitation In Florida
Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) remains a very serious issue across the country and in Florida.
In 2025, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) verified 434 children as CSE victims – the highest number of victims in any prior year.
“During this period, the counties with the highest number of victims were also the counties with the highest overall populations – Broward (58), Miami-Dade (35), Hillsborough (33), Orange (27), Duval (26), and Palm Beach (25),” the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability reported.
“Protecting our children must always be our main priority, and today’s passage is an important step forward in that fight,” Congresswoman Lee said.
