Lawmakers Expect Fight Against Anti-Trafficking Bill:
This story is a couple of weeks old but still relevant.
In the Texas Senate, a bill called Senate Bill 94 would allow victims of sex trafficking to sue any publisher “of an advertisement that led to their victimization.” That means that any sex trafficking victim that was advertised in Texas would be able to sue websites that they were advertised on like Backpage and other sites but mostly Backpage.
As usual though, the free speech argument is being thrown out there, but I still don’t see how profiting from sexual slavery is a free speech issue. As I am fond of saying while people are quick to defend the supposed First Amendment rights of sleaze like Backpage barely anyone is willing to step up to protect the victims’ Thirteenth Amendment rights.
I’m sure the Federal Communications Decency Act will come up as well which holds websites harmless if their users participate in illegal activity on their website. That law was passed in 1996. It’s old enough to drive now. In internet years that makes it an archaic law. I’m sure the drafters of it did not have a major website profiting from child prostitution in mind when the law was written. Again in internet terms, this law is about as up to date as prohibition.
But no, it’s more important for Backpage to be able to advertise women and girls for sex than it is the well-being of the women and children sold. And people wonder why I think humanity is a lost cause.
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 