Exhibit 8

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Attorneys General Ask Congress to Amend Sex

Trafficking Law

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

PHOENIX - Attorney General Mark Brnovich joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 other state and

territorial attorneys general urging Congress to amend a federal sex trafficking law to ensure all

law enforcement agencies can continue to fight online sex trafficking.

The attorneys general ask representatives to amend the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to

clarify that states and territories retain authority to investigate and prosecute those accused of

facilitating online child sex trafficking. The simple word addition to the CDA proposed in this letter

will help to ensure that citizens and children are effectively protected throughout the entire country,

in all courts. Some federal courts have interpreted the CDA to render state and local authorities

unable to take action against companies that actively profit from the promotion and facilitation of

sex trafficking and crimes against children.

The letter to Congress states:

“Federal enforcement alone has proved insufficient to stem the growth in online

promotion of child sex trafficking. Those on the front lines of the battle against the

sexual exploitation of children – state and local law enforcement – must have clear

authority to investigate and prosecute facilitators of these and other horrible crimes.”

The intention of the CDA is to protect children from indecent material online. It was never intended

to place facilitators of child sex trafficking outside the reach of law enforcement. However,

according to the Attorneys General, the CDA is being used as a shield by those who profit from

prostitution and crimes against children. In some cases, courts have interpreted certain provisions

of the CDA to provide immunity from state prosecution to online classified ad sites, such as

Backpage.com, that promote and profit from human trafficking.

“It is both ironic and tragic that the CDA, which was intended to protect children from

indecent material on the internet, is now used as a shield by those who profit from

prostitution and crimes against children,” the attorneys general wrote. 

View the letter (/sites/default/files/docs/press-releases/2017/letters/CDA_Final_Letter.pdf).

In addition to Arizona, the following states and territories signed on to the letter: Alabama, Alaska,

Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,

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2005 N Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004 | Email: Contact Us (/contact-us) |

Phone: (602) 542-5025

Privacy Statement (/privacy)

Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,

New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico,

Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia,

Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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PRESS RELEASE ARCHIVE

202009 (/press-releases/archive/202009) (11)

202008 (/press-releases/archive/202008) (8)

202007 (/press-releases/archive/202007) (11)

202006 (/press-releases/archive/202006) (14)

202005 (/press-releases/archive/202005) (18)

202004 (/press-releases/archive/202004) (15)

202003 (/press-releases/archive/202003) (27)

202002 (/press-releases/archive/202002) (13)

202001 (/press-releases/archive/202001) (23)

201912 (/press-releases/archive/201912) (16)

201911 (/press-releases/archive/201911) (14)

201910 (/press-releases/archive/201910) (15)

PRESS CONTACT

Katie Conner

Director of Media Relations

2005 N Central Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85004

(602) 542-8019

Katie.Conner@azag.gov (mailto:Katie.Conner@azag.gov)

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