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Massachusetts Jane Doe Lawsuit Proves Section 230 is No Barrier to Justice for Victims

Washington, D.C. – NetChoice welcomes yesterday’s decision by the District Court of Massachusetts to allow a lawsuit against Backpage to proceed for violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. In this decision, the judge affirmed that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) does not stand in the way of a civil suit against the website.

“Section 230 as written makes clear that bad actors who are involved, even in part, in creating or developing illegal web content are liable to both civil suit and criminal prosecution,” said former Congressman Chris Cox, the author of Section 230.

“This federal court decision in Massachusetts is the latest in a string of rulings that, consistent with the original intent of Congress, Section 230 is no barrier to justice for victims of sex trafficking and other illegal acts,” continued Cox, who serves as outside counsel to NetChoice.

“While the recently-enacted Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) has provided useful new tools for prosecutors, its amendment of Section 230 was never necessary to reach its goal,” said Carl Szabo, Vice President and General Counsel for NetChoice. “If the President signs FOSTA next week, this court ruling sets the stage for a signing statement to affirm both that Section 230 is no bar to prosecutions for any illegal acts using the internet, and that the original Good Samaritan purpose of Section 230 remains intact.”