Post by: Josh Barbosa
Greetings! My name is Josh Barbosa and I am finishing up my 3L year at Regent University School of Law. I am originally from Connecticut and came to Regent in large part because of the Center for Global Justice. I began with the Center in the Fall of my 2L year and have since worked on projects regarding parental rights in Canada and enforced disappearances in an African country.
While my research regarding the rights of child pornography victims and their ability to recover damages in both the civil and criminal context yielded favorable results in the first half of my project, the second part of my research has not been as positive. In following up on my research regarding suits against individuals, I looked at whether Interactive Service Providers (ISPs) could be sued as well for making child pornography available. ISPs include websites such as PornHub which allow third parties to post and share content without interference. Unfortunately, the Communications Decency Act grants immunity to such providers regardless of the nature of the content posted on their website.
On its face, this fact was very disheartening to discover. However, I was encouraged as I continued my research and discovered that several leaders in Congress have passed or proposed bills attempting to limit this immunity and hold the providers accountable. While success has been limited, these attempts provide encouragement that there are those who are still fighting to obtain justice for the vulnerable among us.
This project has further opened my eyes to the need for citizens to do their part in reaching out to our senators and representatives, and ensuring that those who provide access to child pornography are no longer able to do so with the impunity that they have long enjoyed. It has been a terrific experience working to protect the rights of those who have the greatest need for protection, and I look forward to seeing the fight continue to protect victims of child pornography.
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.