Run, don’t walk, to your TV and watch “I Am Jane Doe” on Netflix. The documentary follows the story of multiple children living in the United States who have been the victims of sex trafficking. They were forced into the sex trade as young as 13 years old and were sold over and over again for the sexual gratification of adults.
Websites like Backpage.com have hidden behind outdated legislation to profit from this sexual exploitation of children. Revenue for Backpage.com was $135 million in 2014, according to the California Department of Justice, a good portion of which came from the sex trafficking of children. Sites like these make it easy and anonymous to exploit children. And companies like Backpage are profiting while abdicating any responsibility for abetting the illegal trade of children.
Attempts to sue Backpage have failed. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunizes websites from legal liability for the comments of their users. Legislation has been proposed to change this. Please ask your legislators to support Senate Bill 1693 and House Resolution 1865. Tell them sex trafficking of children is not OK.
Lori Savage, Whiterocks
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