Fox Backs Web-Targeted Sex Trafficking Bill (BroadcastingCable.com)

Read the full article by John Eggerton on BroadcastingCable.com

21st Century Fox has come out in support of a bill its backers say is meant to crack down on human sex trafficking. But Fox's stand puts it in opposition to some big edge providers—Google, Facebook, Amazon—who argue the bill's unintended consequence is to take a big bite out of the user-generated web traffic comprising the majority of interactions on the web, from blogs to social media posts to picture-sharing.

The bill, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017, is sponsored by a bipartisan Who's Who of senators, including ranking Energy & Commerce Committee Democrat Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Republican Marco Rubio, also of Florida.

In a letter to Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who are leaders on the bill, 21st Century Fox executive VP, global public affairs, Chip Smith said that the company has a vested interest in a vibrant internet ecosystem, but also has a civic responsibility to stem illicit activity.

"It is unfortunate and alarming that critics of your bill would resort to hyperbole and scare tactics, arguing that passage of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act will signal the demise of free speech and innovation on the internet," he wrote to the Senators. "Thankfully, those critics, influential as they may be, do not speak for the entire internet community.”