Ann Wagner: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for bringing up the Walters amendment to H.R. 1865, the Allow States and…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for bringing up the Walters amendment to H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, called FOSTA. The Walters amendment reinstates critical pro-victim provisions from my original bill. It also reflects the work that has been done in the Senate on these provisions, which are the meat of S. 1693, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or SESTA. FOSTA has over 175 House cosponsors and SESTA has over 67 Senate cosponsors. These two bills depend on each other to address the problem of online sex trafficking. Mr. Chair, we should not allow Big Tech money and special interests to try and overdefine this conversation and override our criminal justice system. FOSTA amends section 230 to allow for stronger criminal enforcement against websites that profit from human trafficking, and SESTA amends section 230 to allow for stronger civil enforcement against websites that profit from human trafficking. They are two sides of the same coin and they must pass together. We need both criminal and civil tools to properly combat the highly ``lucrative'' industry of online sex trafficking. Moreover, it is imperative that we clarify that section 230 does not impair or limit the ability of trafficking victims to use the Federal private right of action that Congress clearly provided in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.…”