New Jersey is one of the lead states to propose the Human Trafficking & Child Exploitation Prevention Act. More than 30 other states are joining the effort.

Senator Steve Oroho proposed the bill in the Senate (S-2928) and Assemblyman Parker Space — with Assemblywomen Nancy Munoz, Betty Lou DeCroce, and Amy Handlin — proposed it in the Assembly. More co-sponsors are expected in both chambers.

"The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a global problem that is happening in communities across New Jersey," said Senator Oroho, adding that "the commercial sex industry targets children regardless of their gender."

Commercial sexual exploitation of children occurs when individuals buy, trade, or sell sexual acts with a child; and sex trafficking is "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act... in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age."

Assemblyman Space noted: "Children become victims through interaction with predators. According to a recent report, 75 percent of all children who are trafficked were lured into sexual exploitation through Internet porn."

This legislation requires Internet-connected devices to have digital blocking capability that can only be removed by an adult and would make it unlawful "to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, lease, or distribute a product" that makes pornographic content accessible "unless the product contains digital blocking capability that renders" certain obscene material "inaccessible" and ensures that "all child pornography and revenge pornography is inaccessible on the product... prohibits the product from accessing any hub that facilitates prostitution; and render websites that are known to facilitate human trafficking... inaccessible."

The Human Trafficking & Child Exploitation Prevention Act is a nationwide, bipartisan effort to cut off the grooming and trafficking of children into prostitution through commercial, for-profit pornography. Senator Oroho gave the legislation the name it is known by and it is the hope that it will be proposed in each of the 50 states.

“Sexually exploiting children causes long term, if not lifelong, damage and confusion," said Rev. Greg Quinlan of the Center for Garden State Families.

The Human Trafficking & Child Exploitation Prevention Act was fashioned using directives from the United States Supreme Court regarding the use of digital blocking or filters. Great attention was paid to the arguments of libertarians and civil rights groups when fashioning this legislation.