Technology

Ivanka Trump to host White House roundtable on sex trafficking bills

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Ivanka Trump will host a roundtable at the White House on Tuesday afternoon to discuss controversial sex trafficking legislation that has created a rift in the tech industry, a White House spokesman confirmed to The Hill.

Those attending the meeting include Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), as well as Reps. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) and Mimi Walters (R-Calif.).

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Portman, Blumenthal, Wagner and Walters are pushing bills that would make it easier to take legal action against websites for enabling sex trafficking. The bills would amend a law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which essentially gives internet platforms immunity from liability for content posted by third parties.

Some internet companies are worried that cutting into Section 230 will damage the legal framework that allows for free speech online and hurt smaller internet companies by forcing them to pour resources into scouring their sites for illicit content.

Also attending the meeting is Michael Beckerman, the head of the tech trade group the Internet Association; Chris Padilla, IBM’s head of regulatory affairs; and White House legislative affairs chief Marc Short.

The president’s daughter has endorsed the Wagner bill, called the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which passed the House last month. Earlier on Tuesday, a group of companies including IBM and Oracle sent a letter to Senate leaders urging them to pass the bill.

It appears that the legislation will pass easily, despite opposition from many corners of the tech industry.

Tags Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act Amy Klobuchar Ann Wagner Ivanka Trump Ivanka Trump Rob Portman sex trafficking White House meeting

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