Barricading the Information Superhighway to Stop the Flow of Traffic: Why International Regulation of the Internet is Necessary to Prevent Sex Trafficking

INTRODUCTIONAija is a young, attractive Latvian who desires to earn a living and escape the difficulties of her life at home.1 She finds an Internet Cafe and posts a job application expressing a desire for work as a dancer in Denmark.2 Almost immediately, she receives a reply reading, "Hey Aija! You need no experience. If you wish, you can come this week."3 She is given additional information to fly to Copenhagen, pose as a tourist, and take a taxi to "Club 8."4 Following the instructions, she arrives at the Club only to find that the dancing position is a cover to ensure her arrival and that she is expected to have sex with clients instead.5 She is spared, however, when police raid the Club based on information she provided.6Aija is an undercover journalist working to bring awareness to sex trafficking in an effort to protect vulnerable women and children from succumbing to the dangers posed by the sex industry and facilitated by the Internet.7 This young woman was fortunate, but others who respond to Internet advertisements for jobs in foreign countries are not so lucky.8The Internet has revolutionized the way people share and access information across the globe by providing a quick and easy forum for ideas, products, and business opportunities.9 Educational materials are widespread, business ventures are available to anyone with an idea and a domain name, and commerce takes place at an astounding speed.10 Although the benefits of the Internet are undeniable, the Internet also provides an easily accessible forum for people to participate in illegal activities, such as sex trafficking in the above example.11Craigslist, the popular classifieds website, recently came under fire when an Illinois sherifffiled a lawsuit against the owners alleging that the website promotes sex trafficking and prostitution.12 In response, Craigslist attempted to implement restrictions on the "Erotic Services" section of the website in an effort to curb the promotion and fostering of illegal activity, but controversial advertisements selling women and children were still posted and accessible to the public.13On September 15, 2010, the website permanently removed the renamed "Adult Services" section and replaced it with a bar reading "Censored" in response to pressure from Congress and law enforcement officials.14 While this section of the website is no longer available on the Craigslist site accessed through Internet Service Providers (ISPs) within the United States, internet users were still able to view the adult services section on international Craigslist websites accessed through foreign ISPs for an additional four months, even if the foreign website was viewed within the United States.15The controversy surrounding Craigslist illustrates the complexities of Internet regulation. Craigslist demonstrates that despite attempts at national regulation, information will remain available for Internet access internationally and sometimes within a country trying to prohibit the specific content on its national ISPs.16 Additionally, Craigslist and Aija's story provide examples of the Internet's role in the illegal sex industry as a convenient forum for sexual abuse and a facilitator of the growing international problem of sex trafficking.17 The international community has expressed its strong disapproval of sex trafficking through an international agreement, the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children [hereinafter Trafficking Protocol].18 The signatories to the Trafficking Protocol, however, do not read the agreement to require regulation of trafficking over the Internet, and the Internet remains an ideal forum for traffickers to conduct illegal business.19This Comment argues that the provisions of the Trafficking Protocol must be read to require regulation of the Internet for the Protocol to remain effective in the global fight against sex trafficking. …