HOUSE OF REPS: “Top House Republicans have embraced far-reaching legislation aimed at making it easier for underage victims or prosecutors to hold websites and online services accountable for sex trafficking.
The House on Tuesday [2-27-18] is set to take up the proposed changes, which would give victims a stronger chance of winning civil lawsuits against websites by limiting the broad federal immunity online businesses now enjoy under a 1990s law. Trafficking suits against these businesses have usually been tossed out of court because of that immunity.
Major internet companies including Facebook Inc. have publicly supported the bill. But many in the industry have also been concerned about the potential for big liability judgments, particularly for cases brought by underage victims of online sex trafficking. Startups would suffer particular harm, they say…
The legislation is set to be considered as an amendment to a narrower bill that was approved in the House Judiciary Committee. That bill largely focused on giving prosecutors more power to go after websites that facilitate sex trafficking, although it also aided victims in some ways. House leaders have scheduled votes for Tuesday on both that bill and on the amendment incorporating the more far-reaching provisions.”
-John D. Mckinnon, “House to Vote on Bill Limiting Websites’ Immunity in Sex-Trafficking Cases,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 27, 2018 07:00am