CRIME/NAFTA/TRADE DEALS: “Big internet firms are seeking to get liability protections they enjoy in the U.S. inserted into a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement, adding fuel to a fight over the legal shield that some lawmakers say has facilitated online sex trafficking.
The proposed change to Nafta would mean online platforms in all three countries would be protected from liability for activities of their users, such as harmful or illegal posts. It would generally mirror a law adopted by Congress in the 1990s to promote growth of the internet that has come under increasing fire by critics in recent years.
Proponents of the change, driven by groups such as the Internet Association, a big high-tech trade organization, say Mexico and Canada lack the clear protection of U.S. law, increasing risks for U.S. internet companies.
It is unclear whether U.S. negotiators would adopt the industry’s positions in the talks, which are still in their early stages…
The industry is making the Nafta bid at a time when the immunity provision is already under fire from lawmakers who say it feeds into illegal sex trafficking. Advocates of limiting the liability protections say writing them into Nafta is an attempt by the industry to complicate initiatives in Congress to rewrite the law.”
-John D. McKinnon, “Internet Firms Seek to Put Liability Shield in New Nafta,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 24, 2017 06:07pm