---
title: "How the Portman-McCaskill Proposal on Sex Trafficking Could Harm Online Businesses"
summary: |-
  The Portman-McCaskill bill would have unintended consequences that would threaten free speech online and expose lawful companies to significant legal jeopardy. As Daniel Castro writes in The Hill, a better approach would be for the U.S. Department of Justice to take action under current law against sites that facilitate sex trafficking.
date: "2017-08-06"
issues: ["Internet"]
authors: ["Daniel Castro"]
content_type: "Op-Eds & Contributed Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2017/08/06/how-portman-mccaskill-proposal-sex-trafficking-could-harm-online-businesses/"
---

# How the Portman-McCaskill Proposal on Sex Trafficking Could Harm Online Businesses

Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), along with a bipartisan group of cosponsors, have introduced legislation that would make it easier to prosecute websites that facilitate sex trafficking. Unfortunately, the Portman-McCaskill bill would have unintended consequences that would threaten free speech online and expose lawful companies to significant legal jeopardy. As Daniel Castro writes in *The Hill,* a better approach would be for the U.S. Department of Justice to take action under current law against sites that facilitate sex trafficking.

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*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2017/08/06/how-portman-mccaskill-proposal-sex-trafficking-could-harm-online-businesses/*