February ____, 2018 The Honorable Paul Ryan Speaker United States House of Representatives H-232 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Office of the Democratic Leader United States House of Representatives H-204 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Speaker and Leader Pelosi: We want to thank you for scheduling this important floor vote on H.R. 1865, the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA), originally introduced by Representative Ann Wagner. The need for legislation to clarify Section 230 of the Communication’s Decency Act (CDA) is urgently needed given the 1st Circuit ruling in Doe v. Backpage. That ruling held that even if Backpage had participated in the crime of sex trafficking, Section 230 shielded the company from the claims filed by child victims. We greatly appreciate the support of all of the bill’s co-sponsors who fully understand the barriers Section 230 has created in the ability of state law enforcement and survivors to go after websites that are engaged in facilitating human trafficking. To that end, we would like to express our strong support for the crucial amendment being offered by Representative Mimi Walters to the House Judiciary passed bill that will specifically address the Section 230 problem. Representative Walter’s amendment is critical if we are going to be able to stem the tide of online human trafficking. It is important to note that the 1st Circuit Court, in its ruling, recommended that the children seek a legislative remedy and the children are working to do just that. We were thrilled when the Internet Association (IA), after its staunch opposition to any changes to Section 230, endorsed the Senate version of FOSTA, S. 1693, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 (SESTA) introduced by Senators Rob Portman and Richard Blumenthal. The amendment being offered by Representative Walters mirrors the SESTA legislation that now has 67 Senate co-sponsors. [Potential language on additional amendments being offered that are opposed by the groups] If the Walter’s amendment is adopted and there are no other weakening amendments are added to the legislation that are mentioned above, we strongly urge the House to pass the legislation and send the bill to the Senate for its adoption. Thank you again for bringing this important legislation to the floor for a vote. Fixing Section 230 is critical so that websites that are knowingly engaged in human trafficking will no longer be able to hide behind the CDA and will be held accountable for their actions. Sincerely,