The U.S. House of Representatives is about to pass FOSTA (H.R. 1865). The Senate will probably follow suit.
This new law is primarily targeted at online sites that facilitate sex trafficking. But, it includes a section that makes soliciting a sex worker a federal crime. The new crime is "promoting or facilitating" the prostitution of another person if done by means of a phone, text message, email, or internet. This language is broad enough to make a simple solicitation a federal crime because the client "promotes" and/or "facilitates" the prostitution of the sex worker by soliciting and patronizing her. As soon as that bill becomes law, anyone using a phone call, text, phone app, or email, to set up a date with a sex worker in the United States is violating federal law.
Here's what the EFF has to say about a similar bill in the House:
Don’t let its name fool you: the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) wouldn’t help punish sex traffickers. What it would do is expose the Internet content platforms that we all rely on every day to the risk of overwhelming criminal and civil liability for their customers’ actions.
The bills weaken 47 U.S.C. 230, one of the most important laws protecting free expression online. Section 230 has contributed directly to the rise of Internet-based services by giving them some assurance that they won’t be exposed to massive criminal and civil liability for their customers’ activities.
Without the protections provided under Section 230, the risk of litigation might have prevented many successful Internet platforms from ever getting off the ground. Undermining Section 230 would also put online hubs run by nonprofit and community groups, which serve as invaluable outlets for free expression and collaboration, in severe danger.
SESTA would extend more criminal and civil liability for sex trafficking to content platforms, thus making opening or running such a platform an extremely dangerous venture. The law would affect any company, organization, or individual that hosts content created by someone else on the Internet: social media sites, photo and video-sharing apps, newspaper comment sections, and even community mailing lists. Small Internet startups would become vulnerable to extremely costly legal threats. So would web platforms run by nonprofit and community groups, which serve as invaluable outlets for free expression and knowledge sharing.
There’s a similar bill in the House. With many lawmakers showing their support for these bills, it’s crucial that Internet users tell them how damaging the bills will be for free speech and innovation on the Internet.
More info: https://stopsesta.org/
EFF has a tool to help you email your representative with some boilerplate text to get started:
https://act.eff.org/action/don-t-let-congress-censor-the-internet
This new law is primarily targeted at online sites that facilitate sex trafficking. But, it includes a section that makes soliciting a sex worker a federal crime. The new crime is "promoting or facilitating" the prostitution of another person if done by means of a phone, text message, email, or internet. This language is broad enough to make a simple solicitation a federal crime because the client "promotes" and/or "facilitates" the prostitution of the sex worker by soliciting and patronizing her. As soon as that bill becomes law, anyone using a phone call, text, phone app, or email, to set up a date with a sex worker in the United States is violating federal law.
Here's what the EFF has to say about a similar bill in the House:
Don’t let its name fool you: the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) wouldn’t help punish sex traffickers. What it would do is expose the Internet content platforms that we all rely on every day to the risk of overwhelming criminal and civil liability for their customers’ actions.
The bills weaken 47 U.S.C. 230, one of the most important laws protecting free expression online. Section 230 has contributed directly to the rise of Internet-based services by giving them some assurance that they won’t be exposed to massive criminal and civil liability for their customers’ activities.
Without the protections provided under Section 230, the risk of litigation might have prevented many successful Internet platforms from ever getting off the ground. Undermining Section 230 would also put online hubs run by nonprofit and community groups, which serve as invaluable outlets for free expression and collaboration, in severe danger.
SESTA would extend more criminal and civil liability for sex trafficking to content platforms, thus making opening or running such a platform an extremely dangerous venture. The law would affect any company, organization, or individual that hosts content created by someone else on the Internet: social media sites, photo and video-sharing apps, newspaper comment sections, and even community mailing lists. Small Internet startups would become vulnerable to extremely costly legal threats. So would web platforms run by nonprofit and community groups, which serve as invaluable outlets for free expression and knowledge sharing.
There’s a similar bill in the House. With many lawmakers showing their support for these bills, it’s crucial that Internet users tell them how damaging the bills will be for free speech and innovation on the Internet.
More info: https://stopsesta.org/
EFF has a tool to help you email your representative with some boilerplate text to get started:
https://act.eff.org/action/don-t-let-congress-censor-the-internet