Attorneys general target Internet trafficking

 By Martha Bellisle

Associated Press
 
SEATTLE (AP) — Two years after a federal judge struck down a Washington law that targeted websites like Backpage.com, new state and federal efforts are again calling for more oversight of sites that offer “adult services,” in the hopes of curbing sex trafficking.
 
Backpage.com calls those efforts censorship and has argued that, under the Communications Decency Act, they aren’t responsible for the actions of subscribers or users.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sent a letter Monday to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee urging passage of a bill targeting sex trafficking on the Internet. Ferguson and co-sponsor Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller asked the committee to approve the Stop Advertising Victims Exploitation Act, or SAVE Act. The measure would create new rules for websites that offer adult services. The letter was signed by 53 state and territorial attorneys general. Senate Bill 2536 was introduced by Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and co-sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Washington lawmakers passed a bill in 2012 that imposed a $10,000 fine and up to a year in prison if a website failed to make reasonable attempts to ascertain the age of someone placing an ad for commercial sex. The day it was to take effect, a federal judge issued a restraining order. The law was struck down in December 2012.