Hello! We hope that your 2017 is off to a great start! We would like to thank you for your support during our endeavors to amend the CDA and wanted to update you on a few things. In the last few months, charges have been brought against the company Backpage and their involvement in sex trafficking. In this update you will find info on the current charges against the executives, a link for the new hearing agenda, info on two court cases (in which CDA immunity was shown to not be unlimited), and a proposal by Monica Delateur involving charges against classifieds websites. The Dismissed Case: On December 9, 2016 Judge of the Superior Court of California Michael G. Bowmen dismissed charges of sex trafficking against the company Backpage. The judge cited the Communications Decency Act as a reason for dismissal. However, the Attorney General’s office in California has filed new charges against Backpage executives including pimping and money laundering. http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/investigations/hearings/backpagecoms-knowing-facilitation-of-online-sex-trafficking This link leads to the agenda for the new hearing which is to be held Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 10:00 am ET. Cases where CDA immunity was not provided by Section 230: (http://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2011/08/01/two-recent-cases-illustrate-limitations-of-the-cda-section-230-safe-harbor/) leads to an article by Cecilia Ziniti where she discusses two cases that prove “that CDA immunity, although critical for social media operators’ use of user-generated content, is not boundless. Sites can lose CDA immunity by directing or contributing to offending content or as a result of the actions of their salespeople.” Additionally, you can click the hyperlinks within the article to learn more about each individual case. Federal Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking? Published in the Santa Clara Law Review, the article "From Craigslist to Backpage.com: Conspiracy as a Strategy to Prosecute Third-Party Websites for Sex Trafficking" by Monica J. Delateur discusses the CDA used as a defense. Delateur proposes that "federal prosecutors charge online classifieds websites involved in sex trafficking with federal conspiracy to commit sex trafficking." You can read the full article here: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2826&context=lawreview *We have also provided excerpts of Delateur’s article at the bottom of the message. Thank you for your support and for your dedication in the fight to end exploitation and human trafficking. Let’s keep pushing forward throughout 2017! “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” ― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax Sincerely, ENC Stop Human Trafficking NOW *"In this article, I explore and advocate for a readily available solution familiar to prosecutors and already validated: federal prosecutors charge online classifieds websites involved in sex trafficking with federal conspiracy to commit sex trafficking." "The article then examines limitations and challenges of attempts to prosecute third-party websites, and argues that federal criminal conspiracy, through the explicit federal crime exception of the Communications Decency Act, may be a successful avenue for holding third-party websites accountable." "Third-party websites seem to be largely facilitating sex trafficking and involved in recognized sex trafficking cases. However, state criminal prosecutions and civil suits as well as federal civil suits of third-party websites have not been successful, largely because of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), a federal law passed in 1996.This difficulty leads to the proposal of other creative means for criminal prosecution through an explicit exception for federal criminal liability in the CDA..." "...Because of the potential lack of success of a pursuant case and harsh repercussions of the JVTA, federal criminal statutes already available to prosecutors, with their lack of implication under the CDA, may be the appropriate route rather than federal legislation to make third-party websites liable." "If the speech in advertisements on Backpage.com is found to be criminal solicitation, procurement of criminal activity, or conspiracy, then prosecution would be permissible and the speech is not protected." "The rationale for criminalizing conspiracy is the 'increased danger to society from the existence of a group bent on criminal activity.' As discussed, third-party websites like Backpage.com allow too great a danger to society for their activity to continue. Once the risks are too high for Backpage.com, even from a few cases, to justify their anticipated profit, they should cease offering their platforms. Making Backpage.com as criminally liable as the pimps that freely peruse their webpages may finally make them listen."