April 4, 2017
Enough Is Enough® Applauds Congresswoman Wagner's Bill to Fight Internet-enabled Sexual Exploitation, Crime and Trafficking
WASHINGTON, DC — On Monday, Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO) introduced a bill to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which has been misused for years as a defense to shield facilitators of child pornography and the sex trafficking of children and women. Enough Is Enough® (EIE) supports this much needed bill, intended to clarify the original intent of this provision.
"Sexual predators, traffickers, pornographers and child pornographers were the early adaptors of Internet technology and continue to use this technology to further their criminal activity. Every day children in the United States are sold for sex, often over the Internet on sites like Backpage.com. Unfortunately, such companies have been allowed to hide behind the CDA's Section 230 provision originally designed to be a safe harbor defense for Internet service providers and companies that attempted 'good faith' efforts to protect children from exposure to Internet pornography by third parties," said Donna Rice Hughes, President of Enough Is Enough®, the non-profit organization who authored The Children's Internet Safety Presidential Pledge signed by Donald J. Trump on July 16, 2016. In February 2017, Enough Is Enough® sent the Children's Internet Safety Presidential Proposal (CISPP) to the White House, which incorporates the original tenets of The Children's Internet Safety Presidential Pledge and is supplemented by additional recommendations that include amending Section 230 of the CDA.
"For years, EIE has encouraged Congress to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1998 to allow prosecution of those who facilitate illegal commercial sex acts via the Internet, in order to thwart the practice of sex trafficking and prevent those engaged in it from profiting from the exploitation of countless children. We applaud Congresswoman Wagner's bill and encourage Congress to take action now. This is a bi-partisan issue, which we can surely all agree on, " continued Ms. Hughes, who voiced strong support of the 2013 effort of The National Association of Attorneys General (49 Attorneys General) calling on Congress to make a two word amendment to the CDA which would enable state prosecutors to help fight prostitution and child sex trafficking.
The CDA was the first piece of legislation by Congress, which attempted to extend the existing laws designed to protect minor children from sexual predators, hard-core obscene content and indecent pornography to the Internet world. All provisions became law with the exception of the indecency provision, which was challenged and eventually struck down by the Supreme Court. Section 230 of the CDA, nicknamed 'The Good Samaritan Defense', unfortunately led to the unintended consequences of gross misinterpretation by federal courts that have allowed the provision to grant immunity to companies who profit from selling sex with children and women.
The Presidential Pledge and supporting documentation, including the signed Pledge by President-elect Trump can be found at http://enough.org/presidential_pledge.
EIE is urging the public to support the effort by using the hashtag #DrainTheCyberswamp on their social media channels.
Enough Is Enough®® is a national bi-partisan non-profit organization who has led the fight to make the Internet safer for children and families since 1994. EIE's efforts are focused on combating Internet p*rnography, child p*rnography, sexual predation, sex trafficking, cyberbullying by incorporating a three-pronged prevention strategy with shared responsibilities between the public, corporate America, and the legal community.
For more information or to arrange an interview with Donna Rice Hughes, please contact Kevin McVicker with Shirley & Banister Public Affairs at 703-739-5920 or kmcvicker@sbpublicaffairs.com