Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act: A Shield for Jane Doe

Abstract

After concluding that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that facilitate traffickers advertising sex trafficking victims, Congress passed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017, commonly known together as FOSTA-SESTA. This Article considers and then rejects the claim by sex workers and sex worker rights advocates that the alleged burdens FOSTA-SESTA puts on those who self-report as freely choosing to work in the sex trade outweigh the potential benefit — fewer sex-trafficked people.

Keywords: law and policy; human trafficking, internet, sex trafficking, prostitution, sex work, violence against women; gender and the law; criminal law; trafficking victims protection act, tvpa, communications decency act, allow states and victims to fight online sex trafficking act