Recently, Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA). The bill is gaining co-sponsors and support on both sides of the aisle, and virtually everyone agrees that sex trafficking is a very real problem that Congress needs to address. But the bill is also getting pushback from voices across the spectrum, including right- and left-leaning civil society groups and tech companies big and small.
Supporters of SESTA argue that long-standing intermediary liability protections for web platforms are enabling sex trafficking, citing the website Backpage.com, whose founders knowingly profited from and facilitated sex crimes. Critics of SESTA caution that the safe harbor in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a bedrock of Internet freedom, and warn that the bill would actually undermine cooperation between law enforcement and tech companies. Evan discusses with TechFreedom’s Berin Szoka and Ashkhen Kazaryan. For more, see our coalition letter.
#264: Is the WHO Blowing Smoke about Vaping Dangers?
#263: A Tech Update from the West Coast
#262: Another Attack on Encryption
#261: Florida’s Sharing Economy
#260: How America Can Keep Leading Innovation
#259: Section 230 and Online 'Censorship'
#258: Protecting creativity with Pinterest
#257: The Future of 5G with T-Mobile
#256: Driving Out Flexibility
#255 How Much Should We Worry About Deep Fakes?
#254: Bridging the Digital Divide through Internet Essentials
#253: The Road Ahead for Self-Driving Cars
#252: Harm-Reducing E-Cigs Might Go up in Smoke
#251: SESTA/FOSTA Hurts the Victims It Aims to Protect
#250: Mapbox
#249: Information Fiduciaries: The Privacy Awakens
#248: Everything You Wanted to Know about Information Fiduciaries but Were Afraid to Ask
#247: Seeing the Silver Lining in the Current Techlash
#246: Talking Privacy with DuckDuckGo
#245: Does the Internet Actually Need Saving?
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