U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA) announced on Feb. 21 that her bipartisan legislation, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) of 2017, H.R. 1865, will be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives next week.
H.R. 1865 would amend the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to specify that communications decency provisions protecting interactive computer services providers or users from liability for the private blocking or screening of offensive material weren’t intended to also prohibit enforcing laws or limiting victim restitution or civil remedies related to sex trafficking or the sexual exploitation of children, according to a congressional record summary.
Additionally, H.R. 1865 will include an amendment by Rep. Walters that would enable sex-trafficking victims to file civil claims against websites that allow or assist sex trafficking, according to the congresswoman’s office. Walters’ amendment incorporates Senate legislative language from the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) of 2017, S. 1693, introduced on Aug. 1, 2017 by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).
“The FOSTA-SESTA legislation will significantly help prosecutors crack down on websites that promote sex trafficking, while providing much needed recourse for the thousands of men, women and children who are victims of this evil industry,” Walters said.
U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) joined Walters in introducing H.R. 1865 on April 3, 2017. The measure has gained 174 cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), who signed on as original cosponsors.
The introduction of H.R. 1865 followed news reports across the country and in Walters’ district about website-enabled sex trafficking. “Last year, a massive international sex trafficking ring that was using the Internet to sell sexual services was uncovered in the heart of my district, Irvine, California,” Walters said on Wednesday. “Thousands of those ads were tracked through Backpage.com, including ads selling minors for commercial sex. Websites such as Backpage have become storefronts for this modern-day slave trade.”
Rep. Walters urged her congressional colleagues to support H.R. 1865 and “send a clear message that we will bring to justice those who facilitate and promote sex trafficking.”
Reps. Wagner and Maloney are already on board. “H.R. 1865 with the Walters Amendment is the most effective way to empower victims, equip state and local prosecutors, and ensure websites can no longer traffic children with impunity,” Wagner said. “I am thrilled … we are finally bringing a bill to the House floor that will protect the fundamental rights of victims of sex trafficking.”
“For years, we have seen a disturbing increase of online ads selling trafficking victims and minors for sex,” said Maloney. “This activity is not only horrifying and downright evil, it is also unequivocally illegal. Congress must act to clarify that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was never meant to shield sex traffickers and give victims a pathway to justice.”