Source: John D McHugh/ AFP
Lawmakers in the UK are looking at a potential law that will require online platforms like Facebook and Google to take more responsibility for the content shown on their platforms. The calls for the change in law have come after it came out that both Google and Facebook have been making money off advertisements for pop-up brothels.
What makes this whole sordid affair even worse, is that a number of the brothels that have been advertising on the Google and Facebook have been found to be involved in human trafficking and the exploitation of sex-workers.
A similar bill is being pushed through US Congress that targets internet firms that, “knowingly assist, support or facilitate” content that leads to trafficking. In particular, the US bill is designed to tackle sites like Backpage.com that are packed with sex ads, many of them trafficked women or teenage runaways.
If laws on both sides of the Atlantic come into force, it’ll mean the web giants will no longer be able to turn a blind eye to the types of content and services advertised on their platforms.
