The Impact of Online Regulation of Sex Trafficking and Sex Work on Sex Workers

Abstract

This case study analyzes the political and social implications of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (SESTA-FOSTA, 2018), which altered Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Designed to prevent online sex trafficking, SESTA-FOSTA had unintended and adverse impacts on independent sex workers, most notably those who use digital spaces to advertise and screen clients. Through the hypothetical scenario of Dr. Marissa Sante testifying before an ad hoc congressional committee established by the proposed SAFE SEX Workers Study Act (2025), the study raises key issues regarding free speech, online platform liability, and sex worker safety. According to Blunt and Wolf's 2020 report Erased, based on interviews with 136 sex workers, the case shows how it is the combination of trafficking and sex work that gives rise to moral panic, introduces economic uncertainty, and intensifies violence against sex workers. The case requires attention to language, research ethics, and equitable policymaking, and the need to hear sex workers' voices in crafting digital policy that affects them.