The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017” (FOSTA) earlier this week.
FOSTA is controversial bill which its supporters say helps prevent sex trafficking. Critics, however, say that FOSTA excessively erodes the protection available to website operators with respect to content posted by third parties, among many other things.
We broke down the inner workings of FOSTA, including weigh-ins from legal experts Karen Tynan and Larry Walters, here — but what does the sex work community think? Here are some insights.
Lorelei Lee broke down why FOSTA matters to performers and encouraged people to contact their political representatives — and have their fans and followers help, as well.
https://twitter.com/MissLoreleiLee/status/968975038933323776
https://twitter.com/MissLoreleiLee/status/968975939009998854
Janice Griffith discussed calling representative at length in her Twitter feed (including addressing her own nervousness at making the call, a very humanizing element) — and followed up to see how representatives actually voted.
i called @RepTedLieu today to ask him to oppose #FOSTA and i found out that he voted in favor, so i will be doing all that i can to make sure he knows what he's done to our communities – including the danger he's put his constituents in.
— janice griffith (@rejaniced) February 28, 2018
You too can see how representatives voted:
want to see how your elected representative voted? https://t.co/ntLZAsgjGc
— janice griffith (@rejaniced) February 28, 2018
Organizations spoke out about the impact FOSTA will have.
FOSTA criminalizes harm reduction and anti-violence work: teaching people how to screen for safe clients, hosting resource kits online, asking for referrals, hosting a bad date list, & other online peer support. It’s BAD for sex workers & their loved ones #SurvivorsAgainstFOSTA
— SWOP Behind Bars (@swopbehindbars) February 26, 2018
…and others shared a litany of information.
https://twitter.com/melissagira/status/968603653862035457
Some offered outreach advice:
https://twitter.com/The_VaughnWolff/status/969265806121975814
Ultimately though, FOSTA has passed the House — and no one actually gives a shit about sex workers.
https://twitter.com/Bruno_J_Navarro/status/969312625493528577
