[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 144 (Thursday, September 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5046-S5047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STOP ENABLING SEX TRAFFICKERS ACT
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, it is a tragedy that in the Presiding
Officer's home State of Louisiana, in my State of Ohio, and around this
country, girls and women, children and adults, are being trafficked
online. Sex trafficking is really a stain on our country.
We have taken some actions in the U.S. Senate to deal with this. We
passed four or five bills to increase prosecution of those who engage
in this, to ensure that women who are victims are treated as such and
not as criminals. We have talked about how to help find missing
children. I have been involved in those efforts. We have a caucus here
on trafficking which has gotten involved in these issues.
Here is the reality, as I see it. Unbelievably, in the 21st century,
this practice of selling people is increasing, and it is increasing
primarily because it has moved online, where it is, tragically,
efficient.
We have learned, through an extensive investigation over the last
couple of years, that there is one website online which handles most of
the commercial sex business and most of the trafficking, and that is a
website called backpage.com.
What we have done in the U.S. Senate by focusing on this issue is we
tried to determine how do you turn the tide, begin to get to the point
where, instead of hearing more and more stories about women and girls
and sometimes boys being trafficked online, in fact, we are beginning
to get to a situation where we can find ways to get those people into
treatment and recovery, deal with their trauma, and begin to stop this
horrendous practice. It is really taking away the God-given potential
of those engaged in it. There is nothing more horrible than meeting a
young girl who has been trafficked and hearing the horrendous stories.
I was recently back in Ohio and had the opportunity to visit with
some victims. I remember one young woman in particular told me she was
trafficked at age 9--starting at age 9--by her father. He would take
her to Super Bowls out of town, and he would traffic her online in
their hometown. Imagine the trauma and the heartbreak.
Typically, now it is connected also with heroin or fentanyl or
prescription drugs or other opioids. In other words, these girls or
women are often made dependent, in part, from their addiction, and the
traffickers cruelly use that addiction to force them to do things they
would never otherwise envision.
So we know that. We know this is happening. We know it is increasing.
We know it is online. What do we do about it?
Unfortunately, as we have learned in our investigation, these
websites online that engage in this are largely protected. They are
immune from prosecution. They are immune from victims being able to get
justice. They are denied justice because of a Federal law which
protects these evil people who knowingly are engaged directly in sex
trafficking. That is pretty amazing; isn't it? But that is what is
happening.
Victims were denied justice just 2 weeks ago, when a judge in
Sacramento, CA, dismissed pending charges against backpage.com--this
group I talked about--because of what they cited, which is a broad
immunity granted by a 1996 law called the Communications Decency Act.
As the court saw it--and other courts have seen it--this law gives
third-party website providers or publishers immunity from these kinds
of heinous crimes, even if the website is participating in sex
trafficking.
The court opinion made it clear, it is up to Congress to remedy this
injustice, suggesting: ``If and 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.''
In other words, what the courts have said is, Congress, this is up to
you. You passed legislation--I believe inadvertently--inadvertently--
which provides this immunity and protection for these people who
continue to engage and participate in--knowingly participate in
trafficking, including of underaged girls.
This is just the most recent ruling in a string of judicial decisions
that have defended backpage and the other sites from legal challenges,
despite their clear involvement in this criminal activity.
In 2016, last year, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor
of backpage in a case brought by three girls who were sold for sex on
the site, but the court opinion noted that in order to fix the problem,
``the remedy is through legislation, not litigation.'' They called the
practice what it is, immoral, but then they said the solution is not
more litigation, it is legislation; in other words, Congress, get your
act together--get your act together.
These court rulings underscore the need for us to get our act
together and to do so with urgency because every day that goes by, more
girls, more women are trafficked online, and this must stop.
Having met with dozens of sex trafficking victims, I asked them the
question, of course: How did it get to this point? Were you trafficked
by someone? How did you find yourself here?
Most of these victims--most of these victims--tell me the same story,
which is backpage.com. Their trafficker has them, as they say, off the
street corner onto the smart phone--and, again, tragically efficient,
in the sense that they may be sold 10, 15, in one case, 20 times during
a single evening. They deserve to know we will not passively let this
injustice continue. They deserve to know Congress will step up and
correct this Federal legislation which we passed in Congress 20-some
years ago to deal with this issue.
In August, I visited the Oasis House in Dayton, OH. Oasis is a
wonderful place. They welcome up to 11 women at a time to live in a
faith-based community which provides them incredible support. It helps
deal with the trauma we talked about earlier, helps them to be moving
from that trauma to independence. They are getting recovery and support
there. So many of these women have had a transformation, and it is
wonderful to see them back with their families or back at work.
Speaking with these victims, backpage came up--as it often does. It
is just heartbreaking to hear what they had to say--but mostly they
can't get justice; that the website that facilitated these crimes
against them is off limits.
That is why, in July, after an 18-month investigation into online
trafficking, I introduced--along with a number of my colleagues--
legislation called Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. Currently, we
have 27 cosponsors in the Senate. We have only had this introduced
while we have been in session for 2 weeks because we introduced
[[Page S5047]]
it just before the August recess, but Senator Richard Blumenthal,
Senator John McCain, Senator Claire McCaskill, Senator John Cornyn,
Senator Heidi Heitkamp, and more than 20 other Senators have joined in
this effort to deal with the real problem, which is the growth of
trafficking due to the online presence and specifically some of these
websites like backpage.
The bill would make three narrowly crafted changes to what is called
the Communications Decency Act to allow backpage and other websites
that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking to be brought to justice.
First, it allows victims of sex trafficking to seek justice against
websites. It does so by removing the law's unintended protection we
talked about for online sex traffickers. Second, it helps law
enforcement by allowing the prosecution of websites, again, that
knowingly assist, support, or facilitate a violation of already
existing Federal sex trafficking laws. There is already a law in place
that makes it illegal to engage in sex trafficking. The exception is,
again, these websites online that are protected by the Communications
Decency Act. So it basically says that you will be treated like others
if you engage in, facilitate, and support it.
Finally, it lets State law enforcement--not just the Department of
Justice--take legal action against these websites that violate Federal
sex trafficking laws.
The Communications Decency Act, again, was enacted by Congress a
couple decades ago--21 years ago--and now it needs to be brought into
the 21st century. Again, it is an important piece of legislation,
broadly speaking, but on this particular issue--inadvertently, I
believe--it has allowed this incredible injustice to continue.
In my view, victims shouldn't have to wait one more day to get the
justice they deserve. State and local prosecutors, those on the
frontlines, should be able to prosecute backpage and others for their
roles in these crimes.
The leading website for online sex trafficking has and will continue
to escape legal justice for its active role in trafficking unless
Congress acts. The solution is right in front of us. This bipartisan
legislation will make the changes necessary. By the way, these are
changes that a number of groups on the outside have called for and have
strongly supported.
On August 15, I was proud to announce the support of 16 new Ohio
organizations and officials who endorsed the Stop Enabling Sex
Traffickers Act. The list includes anti-human trafficking advocates,
human rights groups, State officials, and Ohio sex trafficking victims,
among others. This is in addition to the list of dozens of national
anti-human trafficking and law enforcement groups who have come out
publicly in support of this bill. I appreciate them. I appreciate what
the human trafficking advocacy groups do every day, trying to help
these victims. I really appreciate our law enforcement officials, and
the fact that organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police step
forward to support this legislation is very important.
On August 16, the day after we had this endorsement from all these
groups from Ohio, 50 attorneys general from across the United States--
50, including Ohio's Mike DeWine--sent a letter to Congress asking for
the Communications Decency Act to be changed to allow State and local
authorities to hold backpage and other websites that knowingly
facilitate sex trafficking accountable.
The letter stated, in part: ``It is both ironic and tragic that the
CDA, which was intended to protect children from indecent material on
the internet, is now used as a shield by those who profit from
prostitution and crimes against children.''
They are right. Initially the Communications Decency Act was put in
place to try to shield young people from pornography.
What these attorneys general are calling for and what this Stop
Enabling Sex Traffickers Act will do is allow us to go after these
websites. This bill will allow victims to get justice, as I said, and
will do so in a way that protects internet companies that are doing the
right thing. Notably, we preserve the Communications Decency Act's Good
Samaritan provision, which protects those good actors who proactively
block and screen for offensive material, shielding them from any
possibility of frivolous lawsuits. That is important.
The good actors out there--and the vast majority of websites are good
actors--have nothing to do with sex trafficking. In fact, many of them
police their site for it. The Facebooks of the world and the Googles of
the world are not the bad actors.
We are gaining momentum within the tech community, some of whom have
concerns about changing the Communications Decency Act. Just this week,
we got a letter from Oracle, strongly supporting the Stop Enabling Sex
Traffickers Act. They agreed that this narrowly crafted bill will hold
the bad actors accountable while protecting well-intentioned websites.
Oracle's letter says, in part:
Your legislation does not, as suggested by the bill's
opponents, usher the end of the Internet. If enacted, it will
establish some measure of accountability for those that
cynically sell advertising but are unprepared to help curtail
sex trafficking.
Other tech companies have also joined in the fight to ensure that we
can stop sex trafficking. I know they are going to follow Oracle's lead
in publicly supporting this legislation.
Courts across the country, again, have made it clear that their hands
are tied. Their hands are tied in bringing backpage and other websites
to justice.
It is our responsibility right here in the U.S. Senate and the U.S.
Congress to change this law. Women and children have had their most
basic rights stripped from them and have been let down by our judicial
system and, frankly, up to now, by Congress in their search for
justice.
With these latest calls to action from judicial rulings and this
recent letter from 50 attorneys general, any future injustice in the
legal system because of the Communications Decency Act falls on
Congress. It falls on the shoulders of those in the U.S. Senate and the
House.
It is not just the attorneys general around the country who have
supported this; the district attorneys have sent a letter this week
supporting it--again, other law enforcement across the board.
Through this legislation, we have the opportunity to right this
wrong, to make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable women and
children who have been victims of trafficking.
Justice cannot be seen, but its absence can be felt. Those who have
been trafficked by backpage, only to see the company prosper and escape
legal consequences, have experienced unimaginable injustice. They feel
it.
The path to action is clear. Victims need this legislation that the
courts, attorneys general, district attorneys, victims, and others have
been calling for. Congress must pass the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers
Act in order to correct this injustice.
I yield back my time.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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