The Fight to End Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

A 15-year-old received a Facebook message from an older man, who promised to make her a model. He convinced the teen to meet in person, where he photographed her and posted the pictures to a prostitution website. She was sexually abused and beaten by sex buyers.

A 14-year-old received an Instagram message from a strange man, who promised her “love and a better future.” It was a ploy to lure her into his sex trafficking scheme. He advertised her on social media and she was raped by sex buyers. Even after she was rescued, the trafficker continued to use her social media accounts to recruit other children. This was reported to Meta, who never responded.

Another 14-year-old received a message from an older man on Instagram, who groomed her and convinced her to meet in person. Falsely claiming to make her a model, he took pictures of her, which he then posted online to advertise her to sex buyers. She was sexually abused several times.

Tragically, we know this story all too well. If Meta had simply prevented strangers from contacting children, or had proactively detected grooming patterns, or countless other doable prevention measures—these girls may have never been abused.

But the most troubling fact of all? Meta was sued by these survivors for their platforms’ facilitation of sex trafficking, and the claims were dismissed. How is this possible, you may ask? Because of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 denies justice to those who experience the most heinous of crimes at the hands of social media. It must be repealed. Will you join the Defender Coalition to end Section 230? For more information and to join the fight to repeal Section 230, go to endsexualexploitation.org.