Understanding SESTA/FOSTA
If you’re in the industry, you’re likely no stranger to the potential impact of SESTA/FOSTA. If you are unfamiliar with these bills, it’s important to understand what they are and how they could affect you.
What is SESTA/FOSTA?
There’s a lot of legal-ese to fight through, but the basic idea is this: SESTA/FOSTA was enacted with particular goals, first and foremost to make it illegal to knowingly assist, organize, or support the act of sex trafficking. However, since these bills have passed, individuals in the adult industry have already suffered setbacks due to the vague nature of what those parameters are and when they begin to interfere with freedom of speech. Adult entertainment is a wide and varied area, and it seems that the industry as a whole, and now some groups on the sidelines, have become caught up in the SESTA/FOSTA net.
Why are these bills a problem?
The problem is that the bills haven’t created a clear line between ‘sex trafficking’ and ‘adult entertainment’ which is part of a bigger problem. On the surface there is nothing ‘wrong’ with the intent of these bills–but since they don’t specify what constitutes sex work it defeats their intended purpose and harms instead of helps. Without creating that criteria, many people who make an honest and consensual living in the online adult industry may be cut off at the neck.
The bills are weakening the right to free speech online, and threatening the livelihood of many people who are making a safe living as adult entertainers. Now it’s pulling other ‘atypical’ groups into the mix, for what looks to be no reason at all. The bills are vague, so their interpretation can be vague…leading entities, such as Instagram, free to remove any content they may not agree with with little to no consequences. “It was a mistake” is easy to say–but what about individuals who aren’t able to speak up as loudly to have those mistakes fixed?
This is just a basic overview of the SESTA/FOSTA bills and the potential effect they could have on your business, but it’s important to do a deeper dive so that you have a complete understanding of these bills and how they apply to sex work. This site, which was created to help stop the more damaging effects of SESTA/FOSTA can help shed some light on why this is an issue you should not only be aware of but also care deeply about.
Find out more!
Do you have your own legal questions? Send them to success@fancentro.com and we’ll answer them live on our upcoming webinar 1/20/21 at 3 P.M. You can register for the webinar by visiting Centro University.
