Ahead of FOSTA-SESTA Vote, Ivanka Trump Holds White House Meeting
Government needs strong support from nonprofits and the private sector to “make sure that modern slavery comes to its long overdue end,” said assistant to the president Ivanka Trump Tuesday during a White House meeting. Before an expected Senate vote…
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on anti-sex trafficking legislation, Trump announced a roundtable with lawmakers and private sector representatives. She called the buying and selling of young boys and girls a “hidden crime.” The attendee list included IBM Vice President-Government and Regulatory Affairs Chris Padilla; 50 Eggs Films founder and CEO Mary Mazzio; Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman; Polaris Director-Government Relations Joe Racalto; Shared Hope International President Linda Smith; and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Senior Vice President Yiota Souras. Congressional attendees included authors of the legislation Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., as well as Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Calif. The Senate should swiftly pass the legislation so guilty websites can no longer hide behind immunity offered through the Communications Decency Act, six companies wrote to Senate leaders Tuesday. Portman, author of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (S-1693), plans to pursue the House-approved version of the bill, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (HR-1865) (see 1803120047). Executives from IBM, Hewlett Packard, Disney, 21st Century Fox, Oracle and Home Depot wrote the letter to Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The CDA’s immunity provision was never intended to protect online traffickers, the executives said. About 88 percent of reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involve online trafficking of children, said the letter. After a “carefully shaped” legislative process, the bill provides limited, controlled exceptions to the CDA immunity provision that will help combat illicit behavior, the group said. “We encourage you to move quickly to pass this legislation and send it to the President for his signature.” Many of the companies backed similar legislation recently.