MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA –  Google executives today expressed little interest in supporting or compromising on the pending ballot measure entitled the California Consumer Privacy Act after Consumer Watchdog raised the issue with top executives at Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s annual shareholders meeting.

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today praised the U.S. Senate for passing a bipartisan bill amending a key Internet law that would hold rogue websites like Backpage accountable for facilitating child sex trafficking.

Bipartisan efforts to amend a key Internet law so rogue websites like Backpage can be held accountable for facilitating child sex trafficking are moving ahead rapidly with an endorsement today from the White House.

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a bipartisan bill amending a key Internet law so rogue websites like Backpage.com can be held accountable for facilitating child sex trafficking.

The nonpartisan nonprofit public interest group called on the Senate to pass a similar bipartisan bill, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, (SESTA) S. 1693, sponsored by Rob Portman (R-OH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).  SESTA has 67 co-sponsors.

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today praised an apparent agreement that would combine language from U.S. Senate and House bills that would allow rogue websites like Backpage to be held accountable for enabling child sex trafficking.

One victim of sex trafficking began her ordeal when she was 15.  She was sold through website Backpage.com for sex to men across Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine. She was raped over 600 times over the course of four months.

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today praised California Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein for supporting bipartisan Congressional efforts to amend a key Internet law so rogue websites like Backpage.com can be held accountable for facilitating child sex trafficking. The bill S. 1693, the Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act (SESTA), creates the first liability for online companies that aid and abet underage sex trafficking.

SANTA MONICA, CA – A confidential settlement in a civil suit brought in Seattle against Backpage by three of the website’s victims will not stop a bipartisan Congressional effort to amend a key Internet law so websites that facilitate sex trafficking can be prosecuted, Consumer Watchdog said today.

Word of the legal settlement came as IBM Corp. endorsed a bipartisan Senate bill to amend the law and the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the House version of the bill.

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today praised 21st Century Fox for joining Tech giant Oracle and CoStar Group in supporting a bipartisan Congressional effort to amend a key Internet law so rogue websites like Backpage can be held accountable for facilitating child sex trafficking.

In a letter to sponsors of the Senate bill, Sen. Ron Portman (R-O) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), 21st Century Fox Executive Vice President for Global Public Affairs Chip Smith wrote:

SANTA MONICA, CA – Internet giant Google appears to be manipulating its search engine results to favor opposition to bipartisan efforts seeking to amend a key Internet law so websites like Backpage that facilitate online sex trafficking can be held accountable, Consumer Watchdog said today.

Three of the top four links returned under the news tab for the search term “Section 230” were to articles from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a staunch opponent of amending the Internet law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Consumer Watchdog found.

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today warned that the tech industry is pressing the Trump Administration to adopt language in a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal that would protect websites like the notorious Backpage.com that facilitate child sex-trafficking.

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today called on the House Commerce Committee and Judiciary Committee to hold immediate hearings on a bill amending a key Internet law so websites like Backpage.com that facilitate child sex trafficking can be held accountable by victims and state attorneys general.