For a country like the United States which still feels the burden of  the Civil War and the shame of slavery on its shoulders, the legacy of a “free person” has its own special, precious place. Sex trafficking as a modern form of slavery  is no different. Through the years, the federal government, congress and state legislators have called for the abolition of human trafficking and modern slavery. My aim in this blog is to introduce you to some of the approaches that governments and legislators have taken in order to address online sex trafficking. Here is a summary of more recent acts which have paid specific attention to the relationship between the Internet and sex trafficking.

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA of 2008) suggested to use a new monitoring  system to gather and report human trafficking data. According to the report, Ambassador Luis C. deBaca testified that, “As important as innovations and partnerships with civil societies are, it remains a core governmental responsibility to fight against modern slavery.” The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 called for a study specifically focused on the relationship between the Internet and sex trafficking.

In response to the governmental urgency to combat new forms of human slavery even in an international level, USAID partnered with Demi and Ashton Foundation and NetHope Inc to implement a mobile phone application called  Stop Human Trafficking App Challenge to combat human trafficking in Russia. I couldn’t find any data and results about the effectiveness of this new mobile phone application, however according to the website the application has taken into accounts different criteria such as “the usefulness in preventing human trafficking, increasing awareness, or providing services to victims; and functionality.”
Another controversial bill was passed in 2012 in the state of California which particularly pointed out the role of internet in human trafficking.

Proposition 35, the “Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act”
The bill was approved by 81% of voters and urging to:

• Increases prison terms for human traffickers.
• Requires convicted sex traffickers to register as sex offenders.
• Requires criminal fines from convicted human traffickers to pay for services to help victims.
• Mandates law enforcement training on human trafficking.
• Requires all registered sex offenders to disclose their internet accounts.

Among these, the last item which “Requires all registered sex offenders to disclose their

Photo: Steve Rhodes/flickr.

internet accounts” has caught the attention of the proponent of the freedom of expression and the right to privacy (1st and 4th US constitution’s amendments). However, talking with law enforcers suggests that the investigation of the mobile phone and social media accounts of the sex offenders assists them significantly in finding networks of traffickers and taking effective action (2012 report released by the California Attorney General and the California Department of Justice)

“Since Prop. 35 would require sex traffickers to disclose their online accounts, we can better monitor what’s going on online, which puts out a ‘We are watching you’ feel,” said Daphne Phung, leading CASE Act lobbyist and executive director of California Against Slavery.

The opponents also have criticisms against the language of the bill for overgeneralizing and being gender and color blind. Looking at all sex workers as victims and all pimps as villains shows a simplification of complex issues. Indeed there are sex workers who voluntarily chose this job and they don’t see themselves to be counted as victims. Personally, I do not see prostitution and sex works inline with my feminist agendas but we should understand that these are valid critisms which should be deeply scrutinized and addressed.
If you are interested to find out more about the different viewpoints on the Prep. 35 I suggest listening to a panel  conducted by University of Southern California which brought  a diverse range of participants to the negotiation table including  Chris Kelly, founder of the Safer California Foundation and former Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook, D’Lita Miller, a trafficking survivor and Community Outreach Coordinator at Saving Innocence, and John Vanek, a retired manager of the San Jose Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force office. “Even though everyone on this panel has a different approach to addressing the problem of human trafficking – and it is a very real problem – I am convinced everyone is drawing from the same compassion and willingness to do something about this issue.” Said by mark latonero, the panel moderator.