SESTA/FOSTA Law Causes Platform Purges and Legal Liability for Online Companies
What happened
The SESTA/FOSTA law, passed in March 2018, holds online companies liable for user content that facilitates sex work or sex trafficking, according to reports from the 2019 SXSW Conference & Festivals in Austin, Texas. The law allows state and federal governments to shut down sites they disapprove of. The discussion highlighted that the law has caused the shutdown of public forums dedicated to sex education and sex worker safety.
From lgbtqnation.com
Why it matters
The legislation shifted legal responsibility from individual web users to company employees, who could face up to 10 years in federal prison if their platform hosts prohibited content. This broadly written law could affect any adult-oriented businesses, including those marketing sexual films or forums advocating sex work legalization.
From lgbtqnation.com
Who's involved
- TumblrMicroblogging platform subject to the law's content restrictions.
- Dan SavageParticipant in the discussion regarding the law's negative effects.
- AutomatticOwner of the microblogging platform.
Who could feel it
Possible knock-on effectsThese are possibilities Brind reasoned out, not predictions, and not advice. Most are not stated in any report.
- AutomatticSpeculative
Regulatory pressure might force Automattic to implement expensive content filtering, increasing operational costs.