Anti-trafficking Legislation Passed
With bipartisan support, the President signed into law, new bills referred to as FOSTA-SESTA. The acronyms stand for Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (House bill) and Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act (Senate bill.)
The bill saw immediate results as Google, Reddit and Craigslist began shuttering their “Personal” sections, sexual forums and even deleting some “Adult” images from Google Drive.
Screengrab from the Craigslist website
Advocates for Human Justice
Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced his proposal in the Senate in August 2017. Representative Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) introduced her bill in the House in April 2017. Both bills were combined, and passed the House in February, while the Senate passed the bill in March.
Ivanka Trump has also famously taken up the torch of anti-trafficking, delivering a speech at the United Nations in September 2017, calling it the “greatest human rights issue of our time.” She further hosted a roundtable discussion at the White House in March.
Having the president’s daughter campaign for an issue certainly didn’t hurt its chances of being signed into legislation.
Not without its critics
While aimed directly at closing down sex websites like Backpage.com, many have challenged the new laws stating that it will drive sex workers back onto the street and into bars where their lives will be in more jeopardy. On the surface this is possible, but statistics have shown the terrible alternative.
In 2016, the State Department reported that with no liability for prosecution, websites like Backpage actually raised the total of human trafficking victims over the previous seven years from 38,000 to 71,000. Currently, estimates of human trafficking victims could be as high as 300,000.
Time will tell if HOSTA-SESTA has the desired effect, but seemingly it will keep new “entrepreneurs” from trying to force additional children or women into the sex trade.
If you know or suspect someone is being trafficked, please have them contact the Human Trafficking Helpline.
UPDATE – 5-7-2018 Response received to our inquiry from Rob Portman
This is a tremendous step in the fight to help stop online sex trafficking, and a big victory for trafficking victims and survivors who for too long have been denied the opportunity to get the justice they deserve.
In April 2015, I launched an investigation into online sex trafficking as Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI).
The findings of the investigation showed that Backpage.com has been a market leader in commercial sex advertising, with estimated annual revenues of more than $150 million, and has been linked to hundreds of reported cases of sex trafficking, including the trafficking of children. We uncovered proof that the company knowingly facilitated online sex trafficking, coached its users on how to post so-called “clean” ads for illegal transactions, and covered up evidence of these crimes in order to increase its own profits.
Despite these facts showing criminal involvement, courts have consistently ruled that a federal law called the Communications Decency Act (CDA) protects Backpage and similar websites, from liability for their role in sex trafficking. This 21-year-old law was designed to ensure websites aren’t held liable for crimes others commit using their website. The legislation has an important purpose, but now, because of broad legal interpretations, it has been used as a shield by websites that facilitate the sale of women and children for sex. Now, with SESTA having been signed into law, this loophole will be closed.
This legislation will hold online sex traffickers accountable, and help give trafficking survivors the justice they deserve. First, this legislation will allow victims of sex trafficking to seek justice against websites that knowingly facilitate crimes against them. It does this by removing the CDA’s unintended protection for online sex traffickers. Second, it helps law enforcement by allowing the prosecution of websites that knowingly assist, support, or facilitate a violation of already existing federal sex trafficking laws. Finally, it will enable state law enforcement—not just the Department of Justice—to take legal action against businesses that violate federal sex trafficking laws.
SESTA becoming law is an important step in the right direction, and I believe that justice for these victims was long overdue. Lawmakers in Washington must continue to do their part to fight back against traffickers so that we can finally put a permanent end to these brutal crimes. Human trafficking is a human rights issue of our time, and I believe history will judge us on how we respond. Thank you again for your interest and work to end human trafficking.
Sincerely,
Rob Portman
U.S. Senator
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