Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is urging an appeals court to uphold a federal law giving prosecutors greater authority to take legal action against websites that host sex-trafficking advertisements. Along with 20 other state attorneys general, last week Schmidt filed a legal brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit arguing the Court should reject a First Amendment free speech challenge, and should allow states and victims to do exactly what the title of the law states - to "fight online sex trafficking".

The Fight Online Sex Trafficking" Act (FOSTA) was signed into law by President Donald Trump last year. It amended the Communications Decency Act to prevent websites from claiming immunity from criminal and civil actions for hosting sex-trafficking advertisements. Several websites have been shut down or forced to stop accepting ads. Schmidt says efforts to invalidate this law would remove a crucial tool in the battle to end modern-day slavery and bring traffickers to justice.