A Texas Supreme Court ruling could force tech companies to do much more to prevent child sex trafficking on their platforms
A U.S court ruling could force the tech industry to take action to protect child trafficking victims, HTLC examines the need for BIPOC survivors to be included in decision making, and Anti-Slavery International and ECCHR call for a block on imports of goods made using forced labour.
On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Facebook failed to protect children against teen sex trafficking and can be held liable for use of its platform to recruit and prey on child victims. The ruling has profound legal consequences because it paves the way for liability charges to be brought against tech companies when they’re used for criminal activity.
In its recently published 2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report, the Human Trafficking Institute found that sex trafficking and forced labour victims are rarely kidnapped from the street by strangers. Instead, communication via the internet has become the most popular way in which human traffickers recruit victims. The data shows that 30 per cent of victims in federal sex trafficking cases between 2000 and 2020 were recruited on the internet, and that most victims were recruited on Facebook, including 59 per cent in 2020. Snapchat, WeChat, and Facebook’s Instagram platform were also hotspots for recruitment.
Facebook reported in February that more than 20 million child sexual abuse images were found on its platform and Instagram in 2020. Last year saw a rise in child sex abuse online, an increase in part attributed to COVID-19 lockdowns.
The ruling followed three local lawsuits involving teenage victims who had met their traffickers through Facebook’s messaging tools. The plaintiffs said Facebook was negligent and did not attempt to prevent its technology being used for sex trafficking. Facebook has argued that it is shielded by the protections of Section 230 — part of an internet law that states that online platforms are not liable for the content that people post using their services — and should therefore not be held responsible for what is published on its platform.
But the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Section 230 doesn’t allow Facebook to operate as a “lawless no-man's-land”, and that “Holding internet platforms accountable for the words or actions of their users is one thing, and the federal precedent uniformly dictates that Section 230 does not allow it” whereas “Holding internet platforms accountable for their own misdeeds is quite another thing. This is particularly the case for human trafficking.”
Section 230 has become the focus of conversations surrounding moderation on internet platforms. Many have called for tech companies to be treated as publishers, since news outlets can be held liable for what they post online.
The Texas Supreme Court denied Facebook’s claim of liability immunity which may set a precedent for other cases against social media companies protected by Section 230. The relative lack of case law against social media companies for the harms that occur on their platforms means that the Texas ruling – despite only setting a precedent for Texas – is likely to be cited in other states. Facebook can appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, however, that would give the court the chance to issue a ruling that goes further than the child trafficking exceptions to Section 230, potentially imperiling a key legal shield for the tech industry.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
In our webinar last week, we learned of the many exciting possibilities on the horizon for making supply chains more transparent and accountable, but also of the great need for meaningful, reliable information about exploitation on the ground, to help available technologies work effectively.
On Thursday, the U.S. broadened its campaign against the use of forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region by imposing penalties on some companies that produce raw materials used to make solar panels. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it is immediately barring imports of metallurgical-grade silicon mined by Hoshine Silicon Industry (Shanshan) Co., as well as products made from it, and the Labor Department is adding polysilicon made in China to its list of products produced using forced labour.
In this blog article, Evelyn Chumbow and Fainess Lipenga from the Human Trafficking Legal Center (HTLC) call for Black, Indigenous, People of Color trafficking survivors to be included in decision-making in the anti-trafficking movement. Recently, HTLC conducted a survey for survivors of human trafficking on the impact of racism on their lives.
A new report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales, Engagement with children and young people, acknowledges that children would be better protected if people listened more to the experiences of young victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.
In a new position paper, Anti-Slavery International and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) call upon the EU and all governments to introduce import controls to block or seize the imports of goods made or transported in whole or in part with forced labour, including forced labour of children.
A recently published UNODC study, Abused and Neglected - A Gender Perspective on Aggravated Migrant Smuggling Offences and Response, focuses on the differing types of violence inflicted on men and women and presents the underlying factors and motivations that lead to abuse during smuggling operations.
A new multi-part series investigates questionable tactics, “volunteer” investigators and allegations of sexual misconduct at The Exodus Road, an organization fighting sex trafficking in Thailand and other countries.
One of our community members is currently looking for participants for an eight-week mindfulness course, led by an experienced teacher from the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre. Because the course is part of a study, the fee has been significantly reduced from US$395 to US$50. Anyone residing in the U.S. aged 18 or over can take part.
Join the Institute for Human Rights and Business and FairSquare on 7 July at 2pm BST at an online event to discuss “What Governments Can Do to Ensure Fair and Ethical Recruitment”.
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