Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss H.R. 1865, the anti-human-trafficking legislation currently being considered here on the Senate floor. Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world. More than 20 million people in our Nation and around the globe are affected by this modern-day form of slavery.

The criminals who carry out these heinous acts often go after the vulnerable, such as young people who have run away from home or are victims of domestic violence. Women and girls are disproportionately affected. According to the International Labour Organization, 55 percent of total victims worldwide are women and girls. Tragically, children are frequently targeted.

The perpetrators trap their victims in unconscionable and violent situations, forcing them to commit sexual acts against their will. This practice occurs in nearly every area code. It is happening closer to home than we even realize. A report published by Creighton University and the Women's Fund of Omaha found that there are 900 individuals for sale online every month in Nebraska--almost all of them female.

Our government has a responsibility to stand up and do something to protect women and children from exploitation. Fighting the horrific scourge of human trafficking is a priority for me, and it is a priority for the U.S. Senate.

In 2015, we passed the Justice for Victims Trafficking Act, and it was signed into law. I was proud to be a cosponsor of that legislation. The bill set up a deficit-neutral fund to support trafficking victims. Through enhanced reporting and mechanisms to reduce demand, this law provides care for victims of trafficking and child pornography.

Importantly, the law also protects victims in court by treating traffickers as violent criminals. Labeling traffickers in this way means that convicts can now be detained while awaiting judicial proceedings. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act represents a strong effort by Congress to stand against human trafficking.

I am proud that, at home, Nebraskans are also rallying together and taking action to stop human trafficking. This past January, the Nebraska attorney general, Doug Peterson, launched Demand An End, a public awareness campaign to stop child sex trafficking. This campaign aims to build on the momentum from legislative bill 298, passed by the Nebraska unicameral, with significantly heightened penalties for those perpetuating and profiting from human labor and sex trafficking.

While I was a member of Nebraska's unicameral from 2005 to 2013, our State made several important legislative strides to address key policies related to human trafficking.

In 2005, the unicameral passed L.B. 111, which established the Missing Persons Clearinghouse in Nebraska. The law created a centralized database with information on individuals who went missing within our State.

Known as Jason's Law for an Omaha young man who went missing in 2001, L.B. 111 was an important advancement to ensure vital information sharing and to prevent the missing from becoming anonymous.

Additionally, in 2012, the unicameral passed the L.B. 1145 to increase penalties for human trafficking and establish a task force to examine issues in Nebraska pertaining to human trafficking, including its scope, possible solutions, and how to assist trafficking survivors. Most recently, I am proud to have joined the ``Demand an End'' campaign and offer my support of AG Peterson's work on this front.

Now is the time to build on these collective efforts and be responsive at the Federal level to stop this evil.

That brings me to the legislation before us today, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or SESTA. I am grateful for the hard work of the Senator from Ohio and the Senate Commerce Committee in making it possible for us to be having this conversation today. Not only did this legislation pass committee, but it received a unanimous vote.

Last fall, during the hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee, Ms. Yvonne Ambrose shared a heartbreaking story with our Members. She told us about her daughter Desiree. Desiree was a wonderful young woman with much potential. She was a high schooler and a member of the Junior ROTC. She dreamed one day of becoming a doctor in the U.S. Air Force.

Like so many teenagers, Desiree was on social media because she wanted to connect with friends and make new friends. By accident, Desiree suddenly found herself in the shadows of the internet on a web page called backpage.com--a platform where men were able to find her, intimidate her, pressure her, and use her to make a profit. On Christmas Eve 2016, Desiree was murdered gruesomely by a 32-year-old man who bought her services online.

Sadly, Desiree's story is not unique. The murky edges of the internet are still enabling predators all over the world to engage in sex trafficking, meanwhile websites like backpage.com continue to sell and exploit people for profit.

Between January 2013 and March 2015, backpage.com earned nearly 100 percent of its profits from adult advertisements. The internet is giving criminals an avenue to commit these crimes, and certain websites are knowingly facilitating their activities as part of an organized network. Compounding the issue, smartphones make it easier for traffickers to complete transactions.

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, reports of online child sex trafficking skyrocketed by more than 800 percent between 2010 and 2015. Analysis of this major increase showed that it is directly correlated to the increased use of the internet to sell children for sex.

In the months following Desiree's murder, a Chicago newspaper headline read: ``Teen's tragic death shows it's business as usual at Backpage.com.''

The internet can no longer be a place where the perpetrators of these atrocious crimes can hide. It can no longer be business as usual, and that is where SESTA's provisions come in.

SESTA would ensure that section 230 of the Communications Decency Act cannot be used as an excuse anymore for websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking. It also would give State law enforcement clear authority to enforce criminal statutes against websites.

I have been dismayed to hear about the obstacles State law enforcement has faced when attempting to prosecute entities knowingly participating in trafficking activities online.

In its current form, section 230 protects websites and internet service providers from liability for content their users create. This has allowed websites that depend on user content, like Twitter and YouTube, to flourish, but it has been misused to effectively provide impunity for bad actors maintaining websites that facilitate sex trafficking.

SESTA is critical to empowering survivors, providing the legal tools needed to seek and receive justice from all those involved in these monstrous crimes. As a cosponsor of SESTA, I hope my colleagues will pass this monumental, bipartisan, and bicameral bill to combat human trafficking today, and I urge my colleagues to vote against amendments that would derail this important and vital legislation.

Thank you.

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