The U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 27 passed the bipartisan Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) of 2017, in a 388-25 vote, also advancing a Republican-sponsored amendment with it to the Senate for consideration.
“Today, the House voted to hold accountable those who knowingly facilitate online sex trafficking activities,” said U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA), whose amendment allowing sex-trafficking victims to seek restitution by filing civil claims against websites allowing or facilitating sex trafficking was included in the House-passed H.R. 1865.
U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) joined Walters in introducing H.R. 1865 on April 3, 2017. The bill’s 174 cosponsors include U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD), as well as U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Martha Roby (R-AL) and Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), who signed on as original cosponsors.
Rep. Noem noted this week that online sex trafficking has no boundaries and reached Watertown, S.D., population roughly 20,000, located in her district. “In 2013, a sting operation around Watertown resulted in more than 100 responses to undercover ads placed on the Backpage website,” said Noem. “This is not a major city. This is a hometown. Yet even in this community, websites like Backpage have been able to facilitate the buying and selling of our children. It needs to end, so I’m proud this legislation takes unprecedented steps to crack down on internet sex trafficking.”
“The modern-day slave trade of human trafficking operates in the shadows of communities across the country, including Orange County,” in her home state, said Walters, whose amendment integrates Senate 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).
If enacted, H.R. 1865 among other provisions would amend the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to stipulate that the law does not protect interactive computer services providers or users from liability for private blocking or screening of offensive material, according to a congressional record summary.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) applauded Walters’ leadership and work to support trafficking victims. “The evil of human trafficking destroys tens of thousands of lives every year and this Congress has stood together to put an end to it,” McCarthy said.
Reps. Walters and Wagner urged members of the Senate to quickly pass the bill, which they said supports sex trafficking survivors in finding justice for crimes committed against them. Wagner added that H.R. 1865 also ensures that “businesses that sell our children online can no longer do so with impunity.”
“We look forward to continuing to work with members of Congress to get this legislation through the Senate so that it can get to the president’s desk to be signed into law,” added bill supporter John Clark, president and chief executive officer of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.