Goodlatte’s Online Trafficking Bill Makes Key Improvements, But Risks to Free Speech Persist

Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a markup on HR 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA). The Committee will consider an amendment to the original FOSTA in the form of a substitute bill offered by Chairman Goodlatte. This bill includes a number of improvements over both the original House bill and the SESTA bill in the Senate, and we appreciate the Committee’s diligent efforts to craft a more tailored legislative approach. But CDT remains concerned that increasing the risk of criminal charges and civil claims against website operators and other online intermediaries will result in overbroad censorship of constitutionally protected speech. What the Goodlatte bill does Unlike either SESTA or the original version of FOSTA, the Goodlatte bill does not amend the existing federal statute criminalizing sex trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 1591). Rather, it creates a new federal crime (18 U.S.C. §2421A) of using a facility…

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