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Free Expression

Joint letter opposing the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act

CDT, ACLU and a coalition of free expression and human rights organizations and trade associations penned a joint letter opposing the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act (S. 2536). We’ve expressed our concerns over the bill’s free expression and privacy implications before, calling attention to the chilling effect the proposed law would have on online speech and innovation.

Trafficking is a horrific crime and it is essential that victims have access to justice.  Unfortunately, the SAVE Act is overly broad, counterproductive, and would place unconstitutional burdens on the free speech and privacy rights of millions of individuals who have nothing to do with trafficking. Exposing third-party content hosts, user-generated content platforms, and advertising networks to federal criminal liability for the content that their users post would radically undermine the environment for freedom of expression online.