U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA) recently requested that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) include language addressing online sex trafficking, prostitution and child sexual abuse in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“The effort to end human trafficking starts at home, but it also requires a global effort,” Rep. Walters said on Oct. 31. “As we move forward with new and renegotiated trade agreements, I’ll continue to fight to protect men, women and children from exploitation.”
Earlier in October, similar language supported by Rep. Walters that addresses online sex trafficking made it into digital trade provisions of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Rep. Walters collaborated with the USTR to ensure language from bills she supported – the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) of 2017, S. 1693, and the related Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), H.R. 1865, which were signed into law in April – became part of the USMCA to ensure the nation carries out a commitment to end human trafficking, she said.
In an Oct. 30 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the congresswoman again asked to have such language “included as part of any new or renegotiated FTA.”
In her letter, Rep. Walters specifically pointed to the FOSTA-amended Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that clarifies how the federal law will apply to criminal and civil suits in such situations.
“Prior to this change in law, courts interpreted Section 230 to shield websites from prosecution, not just for content, but also for alleged criminal conduct, like human trafficking,” Rep. Walters wrote.
“The original intent of Section 230 was not to shield bad actors or allow criminal conduct online. FOSTA clarified that websites that knowingly traffic individuals online can, and must, be held responsible for these illegal activities.”
Now that the updated Section 230 language in the USMCA aligns with current federal law, she added, it’s critical similar language gets included in the forthcoming FTA “to put an end to the despicable crime of human trafficking.”