Aamer Madhani

USA TODAY

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday that aims to make it easier to sue and criminally prosecute operators of online classified sites like Backpage.com that have been used to advertise sex workers.

The proposed bill would amend the Communications Decency Act to eliminate a provision that shields operators of websites from being liable for content posted by third-party users.

In addition to removing liability protections for websites that facilitate “unlawful sex acts with sex trafficking victims,” lawmakers are seeking to amend the CDA to allow state prosecutors — not just federal law enforcement — to take action against individuals and businesses that use websites to violate federal sex trafficking laws.

"For too long, courts around the country have ruled that Backpage can continue to facilitate illegal sex trafficking online with no repercussions," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. "The Communications Decency Act is a well-intentioned law, but it was never intended to help protect sex traffickers who prey on the most innocent and vulnerable among us. This bipartisan, narrowly crafted bill will help protect vulnerable women and young girls from these horrific crimes.”

Liz McDougall, senior counsel for Backpage, declined to comment on the bill, which has been dubbed the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. Similar legislation proposed earlier this year in the House by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., now has more than 100 sponsors.

The legislative push marks the latest effort by federal lawmakers to go after Backpage, the controversial website that the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says accounts for 73% of child sex trafficking reports in the U.S.

Law enforcement and anti-trafficking advocates have long sought to hold the operators of Backpage responsible through civil lawsuits, charging that operators have knowingly facilitated sex trafficking by providing a cloak of anonymity for pimps and making it easy for johns to use the site to arrange meetings with prostitutes.

But Backpage has managed to avoid liability in civil lawsuits filed against the company by sex trafficking victims by successfully arguing that the CDA ensures that they can’t be held liable for the speech of users of the site. Tech companies and free speech proponents have also raised concerns about making changes to the liability provision, arguing it protects free expression on the Internet.

The Internet Association, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group that counts Amazon, Facebook and Google among its members, said "rogue operators" such as Backpage need to be held responsible. But the association raised concerns the proposed legislation is "overly broad" and argued it would "be counterproductive in the fight to combat human trafficking."

"While not the intention of the bill, it would create a new wave of frivolous and unpredictable actions against legitimate companies rather than addressing underlying criminal behavior," Internet Association president and CEO Michael Beckerman said in a statement. "Furthermore, it will impose new, substantial liability risks for companies that take proactive measures to prevent trafficking online, hampering the ability of websites to fight illegal activity."

Lawmakers have been ratcheting up the pressure against the Dutch-owned, Texas-headquartered company over the last several months.

Last week, Portman and Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., announced they formally recommended the Justice Department launch a criminal investigation of Backpage.

In January, the company announced it was shuttering access to the adult section of its website within the U.S. The move came as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a scathing report that charged Backpage operators systematically edits its escort ads to filter out words that would suggest the site was promoting the trafficking of children. Pimps, however, continue to use the website’s “dating” section to advertise sex workers, according to lawmakers.

In October, then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced pimping charges against Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer and charges of conspiracy to commit pimping against shareholders Michael Lacey and James Larkin. A Sacramento County judge tossed out the charges, noting the Communications Decency Act.

In addition to Portman and McCaskill, who launched the two-year-long Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations probe into Backpage's business, 13 Republicans and five Democrats announced their support of the bill to alter the CDA.

"Until our investigation showed Backpage was actively facilitating sex trafficking, the company had repeatedly used the federal law that protects online platforms to escape accountability for the disgusting crimes it aided," McCaskill said in a statement. "But even as we’ve helped deny Backpage its legal shield in these cases, we need a broader effort to stop the next Backpage, before it starts."

Follow USA TODAY's Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad