WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yvonne Ambrose's 16-year-old daughter, Desiree Robinson, had a tattoo on her arm that said "Be the change you would like to see in the world."
After tearfully telling a U.S Senate Committee how Robinson was murdered on Christmas Eve by a man who used Backpage.com to buy her for underaged sex, the Chicago mother asked Congress make that change by passing Sen. Rob Portman's legislation to hold websites accountable for sex trafficking.
"She was beaten, raped, strangled and if that wasn't bad enough, he slit her throat," a weeping Ambrose told the Senate Commerce Committee. "Desiree's death should never have happened. The sex trafficking of minors should not be happening in our country... If there were stricter rules in place for postings on these websites, my child would still be alive with me today."
Arguing that sex trafficking has migrated from street corners to smartphones, Portman told the committee the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act he introduced would ensure that courts don't interpret the Communications Decency Act as legal protection for sex trafficking websites like Backpage.com.
The Ohio Republican said parts of the communications law that were meant to "protect website operators acting in good faith, who lacked knowledge that third parties were posting harmful or illegal content on their sites" must be amended so sex trafficking victims can "get the justice they deserve against websites that knowingly facilitate the crimes against them. "
"In so many ways, the Internet contributes to our world, but the selling of human beings online is one of the dark sides of the Internet," Portman said. "Selling children for sex over the Internet can't be the cost of doing business, and it doesn't make the world a better place. And there is something we can do about it--this committee can act to stop protecting the traffickers."
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children endorsed Portman's bill, but two other witnesses cautioned that it could backfire.
Santa Clara University law school professor Eric Goldman warned that it might make Internet companies stop their efforts to moderate content because of liability concerns. Internet Association general counsel Abigail Slater agreed it would "undermine the ability of legitimate actors to do the right thing and invest in innovations" while weakening the fight against "heinous crimes."
"The crimes committed through and facilitated by Backpage.com are despicable," Slater said. "Our companies work with law enforcement every single day to actively take down illegal content and in an effort to prevent and end trafficking. SESTA, as it is written, would make our companies liable for all their ongoing work with law enforcement."
Facebook and Google are also opposed to Portman's bill, but declined to testify before the committee, Portman's office said. Other companies, such as Oracle, Hewlett-Packard and Disney, support it, said Portman, adding the bill "has momentum" and he's hopeful it will soon become law.
Becerra was skeptical of arguments against the bill, saying the proposal's foes need to explain their opposition in detail, "otherwise it is a moving target, it is whack-a-mole."
"We need the tools to go after these folks," Becerra told the committee. "We're fighting with two hands tied behind our backs."