Sen. Ossoff says Channel 2 investigation helped launch child sex trafficking bill

ATLANTA — Congress has passed a bill that would help protect children from human traffickers. The Report Act would require websites and social media platforms to report crimes involving trafficking.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln uncovered that foster children are some of the most vulnerable to traffickers.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has warned that Georgia is a hotspot for human trafficking.

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Senator Jon Ossoff says children in the foster care system account for a large portion of trafficking cases.

He hopes the Report Act will help change that.

The bill would also increase fines for companies who fail to report child sex abuse. It will enhance the tip line for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and strengthen evidence preservation.

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Channel 2 Action News reported last year that 1,790 foster children were reported missing while under state care in the last five years. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said their independent audit identified 410 of those children as likely child sex trafficking victims.

“Foster kids are the most vulnerable children in our society. And, frankly, were not for investigative reporting by WSB-TV in Atlanta, I don’t know that we would have had the evidence necessary to launch our inquiry into the abuse and neglect of foster kids in Georgia,” Sen. Ossoff said.

President Joe Biden has not yet signed the Report Act into law.

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