IBM backs anti-sex trafficking bill, breaking with tech industry

IBM is throwing its support behind a Senate anti-sex trafficking bill that has drawn opposition from most internet companies in Silicon Valley.

The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act from Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is aimed at cracking down on sites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking.

“Your bill would allow law enforcement officials and victims to take legal action against those who have taken insufficient measures to limit the promulgation and advertising of such exploitative material on the internet,” Christopher Padilla, IBM’s vice president for regulatory affairs, wrote in a letter to Portman and Blumenthal.

{mosads}“IBM believes your bill is an important, necessary and carefully targeted step to address a serious and growing societal problem, and we support its passage into law,” he said.

The bill would cut into the broad legal immunity that internet platforms are afforded when it comes to content posted on their sites by third-party users.

Companies such as Google and Facebook worry that the bill would lead to frivolous lawsuits for legitimate sites.

Some major Google rivals, including Oracle and 20th Century Fox, have backed the legislation in an apparent shot at the internet search giant.