[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3195-H3196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        COMBATING ONLINE EXPLOITATION OF SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize an important new law, 
the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or 
FOSTA. This landmark anti-trafficking legislation that I helped 
coauthor was just signed into law by the President this week, and it 
ushers in a new era of combating the online exploitation of trafficking 
victims.
  Last month, half a dozen Minnesota men were rolled up in an online 
underage trafficking sting. They had met what they believed were young 
girls advertised for sex on backpage.com, one of the worst offenders 
when it comes to exploiting trafficking victims. But when each of them 
showed up to the designated meeting spot, instead of finding teenage 
girls, they found law enforcement waiting for them.
  Sadly, there are more who are able to buy sex on websites like 
Backpage, but the new law will help us put a stop to

[[Page H3196]]

that. Now it ensures that websites that facilitate sex trafficking will 
be held liable and held accountable for their actions.
  Backpage.com has now been taken over by Federal authorities. It isn't 
the only such site in existence, but it is a sign that their ability to 
profit from trafficking without consequence has come to an end.

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