Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017

Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017

(Sec. 3) This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to specify that communications decency provisions protecting providers from liability for the private blocking or screening of offensive material shall not be construed to impair or limit civil action or criminal prosecution under state or federal criminal or civil laws relating to sex trafficking of children or sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

(Sec. 4) The bill amends the federal criminal code to specify that the violation for benefiting from "participation in a venture" engaged in sex trafficking of children, or sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, includes knowingly assisting, supporting, or facilitating the violation.

(Sec. 5) The bill amends the federal criminal code to allow a state attorney general to bring a civil action in U.S. district court on behalf of the state's residents if the attorney general believes an interest of the residents has been or is threatened or adversely affected by any person who knowingly participates in the sex trafficking of children or sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1693 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1693

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify that section 230 of 
that Act does not prohibit the enforcement against providers and users 
  of interactive computer services of Federal and State criminal and 
                 civil law relating to sex trafficking.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2017

 Mr. Portman (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. McCain, Mrs. McCaskill, 
   Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Blunt, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Casey, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Corker, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Flake, Mr. Graham, Mr. Isakson, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Lee, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Brown, Ms. 
 Murkowski, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Hoeven, and Mr. Cochran) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify that section 230 of 
that Act does not prohibit the enforcement against providers and users 
  of interactive computer services of Federal and State criminal and 
                 civil law relating to sex trafficking.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
        U.S.C. 230) (as added by title V of the Telecommunications Act 
        of 1996 (Public Law 104-104; 110 Stat. 133) (commonly known as 
        the ``Communications Decency Act of 1996'')) was never intended 
        to provide legal protection to websites that facilitate 
        traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts with 
        sex trafficking victims.
            (2) Clarification of section 230 of the Communications Act 
        of 1934 is warranted to ensure that that section does not 
        provide such protection to such websites.

SEC. 3. ENSURING ABILITY TO ENFORCE FEDERAL AND STATE CRIMINAL AND 
              CIVIL LAW RELATING TO SEX TRAFFICKING.

    (a) In General.--Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 230) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal 
        and civil law relating to sex trafficking.''; and
            (2) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by inserting ``section 1591 (relating 
                        to sex trafficking) of that title,'' after 
                        ``title 18, United States Code,'';
                            (ii) by striking ``impair the enforcement'' 
                        and inserting the following: ``impair--
                    ``(A) the enforcement''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``statute.'' and 
                        inserting the following: ``statute; or
                    ``(B) any State criminal prosecution or civil 
                enforcement action targeting conduct that violates a 
                Federal criminal law prohibiting--
                            ``(i) sex trafficking of children; or
                            ``(ii) sex trafficking by force, threats of 
                        force, fraud, or coercion.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) No effect on civil law relating to sex trafficking.--
        Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair the 
        enforcement or limit the application of section 1595 of title 
        18, United States Code.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act, and the amendment made by 
subsection (a)(2)(B) shall apply regardless of whether the conduct 
alleged occurred, or is alleged to have occurred, before, on, or after 
such date of enactment.

SEC. 4. ENSURING FEDERAL LIABILITY FOR PUBLISHING INFORMATION DESIGNED 
              TO FACILITATE SEX TRAFFICKING OR OTHERWISE FACILITATING 
              SEX TRAFFICKING.

    Section 1591(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 
        (5) and (6), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) The term `participation in a venture' means knowing 
        conduct by an individual or entity, by any means, that assists, 
        supports, or facilitates a violation of subsection (a)(1).''.
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