Washington D.C. – NetChoice is concerned by reports of plans to amend the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA) to adopt problematic and controversial provisions of the Senate bill, “Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act” (SESTA).
“While we hope that SIREN retains the core provisions of FOSTA and its language on Section 230, we worry that some may try to pass a last-minute amendment that undoes the House Judiciary Committee’s hard work and coordination with law enforcement, victims groups, and experts in the tech industry,” said Carl Szabo, General Counsel and Vice President of NetChoice.
FOSTA is a bill that was crafted using guidance from law enforcement, victim advocates and the tech industry, working together to find the best solution to an incredibly pressing problem. It answers the problematic provisions of SESTA while strengthening the ability of state, local, and federal law enforcement agents to stop sex trafficking both on the internet and on the streets.
“We’ve already seen that Section 230 is not a bar to discovery in Jane Doe v. Backpage. And we’ve seen that Section 230 is not a bar in other civil suits against Backpage. Hopefully law makers will look past the plaintiff bar’s fiction about Section 230 and instead take the Judiciary committee’s unanimously approved FOSTA language,” Szabo concluded.