BILL REQ. #:  S-0888.1 

Read first time 01/30/13.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     TO THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, The Communications Decency Act was enacted in 1996, nearly seventeen years ago when the internet was still in a fledgling state and accessible only to about twenty million Americans; and
     WHEREAS, The internet of 1996 would be largely unrecognizable in 2013, lacking nearly all of the popular sites of today, such as YouTube, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, Craig's List, and Backpage.com; and
     WHEREAS, Today, the internet makes it possible for companies such as Backpage.com to earn millions of dollars annually from the sale of location-specific internet advertisements, some of which directly facilitate the sex trafficking of minors and other victims; and
     WHEREAS, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act assures internet service providers like Backpage.com nearly complete immunity from liability for the significant and known role they play in promoting today's sex trafficking industry through the sale and distribution of adult escort advertisements on the internet; and
     WHEREAS, When the Communications Decency Act was written in 1996, section 230 was intended to encourage internet service providers to promote the growth of the internet without incurring liability for third-party communications during a time when the average American with internet access spent thirty minutes each month on the web, compared with today's average of twenty-seven hours per month; and
     WHEREAS, The internet has evolved in ways few expected, making section 230 of the Communications Decency Act now outdated within the context, scope, and capability of today's internet to instantly disseminate information and facilitate rapid communication; and
     WHEREAS, Without a change to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, states remain powerless to enact meaningful reforms to hold accountable those internet service providers who profit from the sale of adult escort advertisements while turning a blind eye to their role in facilitating crimes against children and refusing to implement any bona fide measures to verify the age of persons featured in those advertisements;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that Congress update and amend the Communications Decency Act to reflect the current scope and power of the internet, to acknowledge the publisher-like role of companies like Backpage.com who profit from the sale and distribution of advertisements on the internet, and to authorize states to enact and enforce laws holding internet service providers responsible when they knowingly facilitate child sex trafficking through the sale of adult escort advertisements.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.