11/30/2017 Wyden blocks bill to stop online sex trafficking | Opinion | Eugene, Oregon

http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/36193361-78/wyden-blocks-bill-to-stop-online-sex-trafficking.html.csp 1/8

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Wyden blocks bill to stop online sextraffickingB�R������B�����ForTheRegister-GuardNOV.29,2017

S extraf�ickingistalkedabouteverywhererightnow.Mostofthetimeweneverseeit—soitmustnotbehappeninghereinOregon,right?

Wrong.WiththeadventoftheInternet,traf�ickersandpimpshavemovedoffthestreetsandaresellingtheir“product”—mostlyyounggirls—online.

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11/30/2017 Wyden blocks bill to stop online sex trafficking | Opinion | Eugene, Oregon

http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/36193361-78/wyden-blocks-bill-to-stop-online-sex-trafficking.html.csp 2/8

Shocking,Iknow.Butthesechildrenarejustaclickaway.YoucangorightnowontheregularWeb(nottheDarkWeb)andorderahumanforsextobeatyourdoorwithin15minutes.IthappensineverytownandcityacrossOregoninnumbersthatwouldmakeyourheadspin.

It’shorri�ic,butwecannolongerpretendit’snothappening.Weneedtocollectivelywakeupsothatwecanbetterprotectourchildren.

How, exactly, are companies getting awaywith creating these awfulwebsiteswherepeoplearebought and soldwithout anypenalty?Well, it’s called theCommunicationDecencyAct,speci�ically Section230, also referred toas theCDA230.This lawwaspassedback in1996before the Internetwasanything like it is today, toprotect companies frombeing liable forthird-partypostings.

Whichmadetotalsense.Itwouldn’tberightformetogetintotroublebecausesomeweirdotriedtoselldrugsonthecommentssectionofmyblog.NordoanyofuswantFacebookorGoogletogetintroubleforstupidpostingspeoplemakeeveryhourofeveryday.

But a lot has changed in the last 20-plus years. There arewebsites thatmakehundreds ofmillionsofdollarsayear facilitatingsextraf�icking(andother illegalactivity),andour lawshaven’tcaughtupwiththem.

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11/30/2017 Wyden blocks bill to stop online sex trafficking | Opinion | Eugene, Oregon

http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/36193361-78/wyden-blocks-bill-to-stop-online-sex-trafficking.html.csp 3/8

Recently,severalsexuallyexploitedchildren�iledsuitagainstoneofthesewebsites,Backpage,but their casewas dismissed. The court stated that even if Backpagewere engaged in thecrimeoftraf�icking,itwasnonethelessprotectedbyCDA320.Thecourtadvisedsurvivorstoseekalegislativesolution.(LearnmoreintheNet�lixdocumentary,“IAmJaneDoe.”)

So a group of lawyers, survivors and activists got togetherwithmembers of Congress andcreatedanamendmenttotheCDA230thatwouldstillprotectallofourfreedomandprivacy,whiletargetingonlythebadactorswhoarepurposelycreatingcompaniesandwebsites forillegalactivity—especiallywhenitcomestoharmingchildren.

This narrow, surgical amendment to the CDA230was titled SESTA: The Stop Enabling SexTraf�ickingActof2017.Companiesthatarecriminallyinvolvedwithsextraf�ickingshouldbeprosecuted at the state and federal level. Companies that engage in this type of criminal

11/30/2017 Wyden blocks bill to stop online sex trafficking | Opinion | Eugene, Oregon

http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/36193361-78/wyden-blocks-bill-to-stop-online-sex-trafficking.html.csp 4/8

conductshouldalsohavetoanswertocivilclaims.Forty-eightsenatorshavesignedontothisbillbecauseitmakessensetoamendsuchanoutdatedlaw.

Sen.RonWyden,however, isnotsupportingthebill —andheactuallydemandedaholdonthiscriticallegislation,citingprivacyandcensorshipconcerns.HavingmetwithWyden’sstaffontheneedforvictimstoaccess justice, Iamdisappointedbyhisannouncement.WydenisaloneinblockingthiscriticalbipartisanlegislationfrombeingvotedonbythefullSenate—legislationthatwasunanimouslypassedbytheSenateCommerceCommitteetwoweeksago.

Survivorsofsextraf�ickingandcommercialsexualexploitationknowthedeepandprofoundharmcausedbysextraf�icking.Weleadorganizationsthatprovideservicesandadvocacyforexploited individuals, and continue to see the irreparable harm caused by online sextraf�icking.

It is time to hold thesewebsites accountable for the harm that they cause— after all,wewouldn’tallowsomeonetosellachildforsexonthestreetcorner,sowhyarecriminalsabletodothisonlineandhidebehindtheCDA?

SESTA is needed to help disrupt the purchase of sex online with children and traf�ickedpersons. Every day, thousands ofwomen and children aremarketed and purchased onlinewitheaseandimpunity.Itisaseasytoordersexwithchildrenandexploitedadultsasitistoorderapizza.SESTAwouldeliminatethisjudicialloopholesothatcompanieslikeBackpagecannolongeroperatewithimpunity.

Oregonians,weneedyoutotakeastand!Pleasewrite in,call,emailWydenanddemandhesupportSESTA.Standwithus toprovidevictimsofonlinesex traf�ickingwithapathwaytojustice.

He hasn’t listened to survivors and activists, but he will listen to you. Go towww.wyden.senate.gov/contact to demand Senator Wyden sign on to SESTA. Read moreaboutthebillatwww.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1693.

RebeccaBender,CEOandfounderoftheRebeccaBenderInitiative,istheauthorof“RoadmaptoRedemption.”Sheservesasco-chairoftheOregonDepartmentofJustice’sHumanTraf�ickingAdvisoryCouncilandisasurvivorofhumantraf�ickingafterbeingluredofftheUniversityofOregoncampus.

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