On the recordMarch 20, 2018
Mr. President, we are quickly turning to the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act legislation, coupled with the legislation that has come over from the House of Representatives, and I hope we will get a big bipartisan vote in support of that legislation when it is voted on, probably tomorrow. Let me just say that for more than two decades, the commercial internet has been an undeniable force for good. It has delivered economic opportunity to people who would not otherwise have had it. It has empowered marginalized citizens around the world to fight back against oppressors. It has expanded educational opportunities and made news and information more accessible, and more. But like any tool, the internet can be used for evil as well as good, and right now, certain corners of the internet are being exploited to facilitate sex trafficking, including the widespread trafficking of children. Each year, thousands of children are sexually trafficked within the United States. That is right. Thousands of children are trafficked each year in the United States--not in some faraway country but right here at home in our communities. More and more every day, this trafficking is being facilitated via the internet. Three out of four children who have been sexually trafficked in this country have been trafficked online. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported an 846-percent increase in reports of suspected child sex trafficking from 2010 to 2015.…
Source
govinfo.gov




