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Attorney General Mike DeWine
DeWine Asks Congress
to Amend Sex Trafficking Law
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today joined 49
other state and territorial attorneys general in a bi-partisan
coalition urging Congress to affirm the authority of state, local, and
territorial law enforcement to investigate and prosecute companies that
profit from the promotion and facilitation of sex trafficking.
In a letter to Congress, the attorneys general ask representatives to
amend the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 to clarify that
states, localities, and territories have the authority to investigate
and prosecute facilitators of child sex trafficking wherever they
operate, including online.
"The proposed amended language to the Communications Decency Act will
help to ensure that citizens and children are effectively protected
throughout the entire country, in all courts," said Attorney General
DeWine. "The intention of the Communications Decency Act is to protect
children from indecent material online. It was never intended to place
facilitators of child sex trafficking outside the reach of law
enforcement."
Some courts have interpreted the current language in the CDA to only
allow federal law enforcement - not state, local, or territorial
authorities - the ability to take action against companies, such
as online classified ad services, that actively profit from the
promotion and facilitation of sex trafficking and crimes against
children.
“Federal enforcement alone has proved insufficient to stem the growth
in online promotion of child sex trafficking. Those on the front lines
of the battle against the sexual exploitation of children – state and
local law enforcement – must have clear authority to investigate and
prosecute facilitators of these and other horrible crimes,” the
attorneys general wrote. “It is both ironic and tragic that the CDA,
which was intended to protect children from indecent material on the
internet, is now used as a shield by those who profit from prostitution
and crimes against children.”
The full letter is available on the Ohio Attorney General's website.
In addition to Ohio, the following states and territories signed onto
the letter: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont,
Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
To learn more about the Ohio Attorney General's Human Trafficking
Commission, visit www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/humantrafficking.
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