Washington, D.C. - September 11, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) highlighted a new op-ed in The Hill from Mary Leary, law professor at The Catholic University of America, former Deputy Director for the Office of Legal Counsel at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and former director of the National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse (NCPCA), detailing her support for the bipartisan Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. The legislation, widely supported by dozens of Ohio and national anti-human trafficking advocates and law enforcement, will narrowly amend the 1996 Communications Decency Act to help state and local prosecutors hold accountable companies like Backpage that knowingly facilitate the trafficking of women and children online. Courts, as well as district attorneys and 50 attorneys general from around the country, have long urged Congress to fix this law to protect trafficking victims.
“This legislation is a test for Congress,” says Leary in her op-ed. “Will it side with common sense and agree that federal law cannot give immunity to active partners of human traffickers, or will it side with corporations that want the CDA to be left untouched and perverted to afford them broader immunity than ever intended.”
Excerpts of the op-ed can be found below and the full op-ed can be found at this link.
In Bid to Amend Communications Decency Act, Congress Must Side with Trafficking Victims
Mary G. Leary
The Hill
September 7, 2017
The courts cry for help and Congress holds the protection of trafficking victims in its hands. Just two weeks ago a California Court dismissed the pimping charges against the owners of Backpage.com for its role in allegedly knowingly collaborating with human traffickers to sell women and children online for sex. In so doing, it joined an increasing list of courts asking Congress to amend the so-called Communications Decency Act (CDA), which they have interpreted to provide immunity for such companies.
In closing his opinion, Judge Lawrence Brown made this shocking statement: “Until Congress sees fit to amend the immunity law, the broad reach of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act even applies to those alleged to support the exploitation of others by human trafficking.” That’s right – immunity for collaborators of human trafficking.
This is yet another common sense appeal to Congress to make clear that companies who actively partner with human sex traffickers to sell victims online are not immune from liability. Judge Brown’s opinion joins a growing chorus of countless human trafficking victims, law enforcement, and a broad coalition of non-profit organizations to amend the CDA.
The good news is that Congress has begun to listen.
This summer, Congress has acted in a bipartisan way with two widely sponsored bills in each chamber. The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 has more than 100 co-sponsors in the House and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 has nearly 30 co-sponsors in the Senate. These bipartisan legislative proposals demonstrate it is possible to draft a narrowly tailored, common-sense clarification to the CDA. The Senate bill, for example, provides for this simple proposition: a company that knowingly acts to assist human sex traffickers should not have immunity intended for Good Samaritan companies working in good faith to limit this material…
The Ponder appreciates our readers! We have a special offer for you:
====
No comments:
Post a Comment