Please support efforts to combat online sex trafficking by amending section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) in the bill H.R. 1865, FOSTA/SESTA. Congress passed the Communications Decency Act (Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) to protect children from exposure to Internet pornography. The act included a defense, Section 230, for Internet providers, protecting them from liability for material posted to their sites by 3rd parties. Thus if illegal pornography or other material is posted to a site by someone not associated with the site operator, the site was to be held harmless. Section 230 was well intentioned but when the substantive portions of the CDA were held unconstitutional, the 230 defense was left standing and has been used by companies like Backpage. Congress never intended this result yet some courts have ruled that the 230 defense provides, in effect, blanket website immunity for all material posted by 3rd parties on the sites. It is estimated that Backpage alone makes approximately $3 million per month on ads for prostituted and trafficked women and children. We cannot allow companies like Backpage.com to get away with facilitating prostitution and sex trafficking simply because they stand behind the excuses provided by this law. They make millions of dollars (Backpage made $39 million by facilitating prostitution with "adult ads" June 2012-May 2013) off of the sexual exploitation of women and children. We cannot allow this to continue in the United States of America. We write to urge you to do something to help fix this broken law as this is NOT what Congress intended. These companies should not be able to hide behind this excuse and allow the further sexual exploitation of thousands of women and children so they can make a profit. The Tech Industry is lobbying to shut down this bill for financial reasons. But please remember that your duty is to protect the real human lives that are being bought and sold online with impunity. In order to do that, you must amend section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (www.EndSexualExploitation.org) is able to help you learn more about these issues and aid you in your efforts if you take this on.

Sex trafficking is happening online in our state. But because of the Communications Decency Act Section 230 - there is no liability for the websites that facilitate this! Unfortunately, some in the technology community, including Google, are fighting any changes to Section 230–even if the changes would lead to a drastic reduction in online sex trafficking. Google has blitzed congressional offices with this email asking your Senators and Representatives to oppose S. 1693 and H.R. 1865. For Google and other tech industry titans, corporate profits are more important than the lives of children and adults who are victims of online sex trafficking. A coalition of groups headed by Consumer Watchdog recently released a report, entitled How Google’s Backing of Backpage Protects Child Sex Trafficking, which states in part, “An analysis of public records, tax documents and legal filings and other publicly-available documents shows Google has financed and supported a broad array of groups and individuals who have fought aggressively to thwart legal challenges to Backpage’s business model.” But please remember that your duty is to protect the real human lives that are being bought and sold online with impunity! In order to do that, you must amend section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Please amend the law and pass the bill bill H.R. 1865, FOSTA/SESTA.

It is easier than ever before to buy and sell women and children for sex thanks to the Internet. Pimps have realized that they can remain anonymous, make lots more money and offer more extreme and deviant sexual behaviors if they just move their "business" from the street corner to the Internet. Please support efforts to combat online sex trafficking by amending section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) in the bill H.R. 1865, FOSTA/SESTA. Some Tech lobbyists are claiming it's impossible for websites to monitor 3rd party content, but this is a specious argument because Internet companies are in the advertising/data mining business. Thus, constant and meticulous monitoring of third-party content is actually their business model! Additionally, the technology industry has made dramatic innovations in the past several years in the application of algorithms, blocking, and filtering. While some large platforms may not be able to monitor every third-party post, they can institute algorithms, filtering, and moderation practices that will catch a large portion of content facilitating sex trafficking. They can also improve by responding quickly and effectively to any reports of suspected commercial sexual exploitation on their site. Such efforts are the markers of corporations acting in “good faith.” The safe harbor accorded to websites which “filter in good faith” will remain and be protective of content-neutral sites. The proposed amendments to the Communications Decency Act specifically target bad actors who are engaged in the crime of sex trafficking. This means that websites who operate in good faith will be perfectly fine in the courts. Please pass the bill H.R. 1865, FOSTA/SESTA!

Please pass H.R. 1865, FOSTA/SESTA to be a leader against online trafficking! Classified advertising websites are making it as easy as ordering a pizza to order human beings for sex from the privacy of one’s home, office, hotel room, or cell phone. Many of those bought and sold on such websites are sexually trafficked children and adults. One such website, Backpage.com, facilitates this activity by editing ads to conceal the illegality of underlying criminal activity. The Communications Decency Act (CDA) Section 230 is being interpreted by the courts to give Backpage and other websites immunity for facilitating online sex trafficking. If you want further information on the unintentional way the CDA has allowed online sex trafficking to flourish, please review this journal article: digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol3/iss1/12/ Please pass H.R. 1865, FOSTA/SESTA to fix this loophole! This is not a complete list of organizations that have spoken out asking Congress to amend the CDA, however it shows the breadth and depth of groups speaking out about this need: National District Attorneys Association; National Association of Police Organizations; Major Cities Chiefs Association; Fraternal Order of Police; National Organization for Victim Assistance; National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE); WIFLE Foundation Inc. (Women in Federal Law Enforcement); DeliverFund; Consumer Watchdog; National Center on Sexual Exploitation; Exodus Cry; Shared Hope International; Coalition Against Trafficking In Women; Legal Momentum; Demand Abolition; FAIR Girls; Missouri Police Chiefs Association; Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley; Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; St. Louis Police Officers Association; Airline Ambassadors International; Courtney’s House; The Covering House; Missouri KidsFirst; Missouri Juvenile Justice Association; Faith & Freedom Coalition; Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Convention; Focus on the Family; Coalition Against Trafficking and Exploitation-CATE; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Faith & Action in the Nation’s Capital; Cornerstones of Care; Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police; Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM); Crisis Aid International; Ambassador Swanee Hunt; Concerned Women for America; National Organization for Women; NEST Foundation; Skagit County Coalition Against Trafficking; Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; Eastern NC Stop Human Trafficking Now; Foundation for a Slavery Free World; Church of Scientology; She is Rising; Innocents at Risk; Saving Innocence; Artists for Human Rights; Enough is Enough; Redeeming Joy