Four years after Congress passed an exception to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that made it possible to hold websites liable for user-generated content that facilitates sex trafficking, some lawmakers want to examine what the impact has been. In the process, we may learn more about the tradeoffs required to strike a reasonable balance between holding online platforms accountable and protecting venues for user-generated content.
Under the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act, introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be directed to assess the unintended health and safety consequences of the legislative package known as FOSTA-SESTA. Critics of the legislation have long noted that, while well-intended (and perhaps not well-designed even to achieve its intended aim), the law may nevertheless harm sex workers who use online platforms to discuss and arrange consensual commercial sexual activity by exposing them to greater risks of violence and financial insecurity.
Read Full Article »