Sen. Hawley Probes Google's Failure to Remove Child Sex Abuse Material

Lawmaker opens investigation into tech giant's alleged inaction on illegal content

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has launched an investigation into Google's alleged failure to remove child sex abuse material (CSAM) from its platforms. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Hawley cited testimony from a recent congressional hearing that described an "explosion" of CSAM online, with at least 89,000 unidentified children depicted in these images. Hawley said the testimony further established that Google has not taken "robust action" to assist survivors.

Why it matters

The proliferation of CSAM online and tech companies' response to it has become a major concern for lawmakers and child protection advocates. Hawley's investigation into Google's handling of this issue could put pressure on the company to improve its content moderation and reporting practices around this type of illegal and exploitative material.

The details

In his letter, Hawley quoted testimony from a hearing held by his Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, where a survivor's mother described her ongoing battle to get Google to remove CSAM depicting her daughter from the internet, even 25 years after the abuse took place. Hawley is now requesting all of Google's internal policies and procedures related to the detection, review, removal, and reporting of known and suspected CSAM.

  • On March 4, 2026, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, chaired by Sen. Hawley, held a hearing on child sex trafficking and the failure to protect vulnerable children.
  • In his letter dated March 5, 2026, Sen. Hawley announced the launch of his investigation into Google's alleged failure to remove CSAM.

The players

Sen. Josh Hawley

A Republican senator from Missouri who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism.

Sundar Pichai

The CEO of Google, the parent company of YouTube and other Alphabet subsidiaries.

Jane Doe

The mother of a survivor of child sexual abuse, who testified about her ongoing battle to get Google to remove CSAM depicting her daughter from the internet.

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What they’re saying

“I've been fighting since day one. That's all I do. I contact people… I said, if we were famous, if she was a celebrity, those pictures would be down. I said, she's not famous. She's famous to me, but evidently not famous enough to the world… I have had a fight with Google about it, saying for the safety of my child, you have to get these images off… these pictures are out there… it's imperative that you get these things off the computer… they told me I have to contact the webmaster…”

— Jane Doe, Mother of a survivor (Congressional testimony)

What’s next

Hawley has requested that Google provide all internal policies, guidelines, and standard operating procedures related to the detection, review, removal, and reporting of known and suspected child sexual abuse material.

The takeaway

This investigation highlights the ongoing challenges in combating the proliferation of child sexual abuse material online and the need for tech companies to take more robust action to protect vulnerable children and assist survivors. The outcome of Hawley's probe could put pressure on Google to improve its content moderation and reporting practices around this type of illegal and exploitative material.