Historic Victory for Children, Women, Human Dignity and the Internet

Statement by Donna Rice Hughes, CEO and President, Enough Is Enough

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Mar 21, 2018, 06:35 ET

GREAT FALLS, Va., March 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an overwhelming bipartisan vote (97-2), the U.S. Senate's passage of H.R. 1865, "FOSTA SESTA" marks a critical step towards draining the cyberswamp of commercial sexploitation. Enough Is Enough (EIE) commends the U.S. Senate for its leadership on this historic bill following a multi-year pursuit for justice which is nothing short of a David and Goliath victory against the multibillion dollar trafficking industry and the tech giants' who lobbied against its passage.

Once signed into law, survivors and state prosecutors will have the legal tools to pursue civil and criminal actions against websites like Backpage.com who have knowingly allowed for the buying and selling of women and children for sex online while making millions of dollars in profits.

Senate subpoenas showed that executives at Backpage.com were complicit in facilitating sex trafficking having gone so far as to coach traffickers on how to get away with their crimes and avoid prosecution by editing out words like "little girl," and "school girl," from advertisements. No longer will these sites who have sold children and women like chattel be shielded by the unintended consequences of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) Section 230.

By uniting together, we are telling sex trafficking survivors, "We hear you, we see you, and we are fighting for you! Enough Is Enough!" It is my dream that one day women and children will be able to collectively say "Not Me" instead of "Me Too," because we worked together to create a safer online environment where their innocence and dignity are protected from sexual exploitation.

This landmark legislation fulfills a promise by candidate Trump, who in 2016 signed EIE's Children's Internet Safety Presidential Pledge in which he promised to advance public policies and provide law enforcement with the resources and tools needed to investigate and prosecute Internet crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. The Pledge also called out the need for Congress to amend CDA #230.

EIE is a national bi-partisan non-profit organization who has led the fight to make the Internet safer for children and families. www.enough.org

SOURCE Enough Is Enough