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The Senate has been pushing for stricter regulations on sex trafficking and the adult, consenting sex industry. Due to the Senate passing their H.R.1865 bill, or Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which is an anti-online sex trafficking bill, the online ad-posting site Craigslist had to shut down all of their personal sections. It looks like Tinder is going to get a bump in their member numbers.
Craigslist made a public announcement regarding the bill that explained why they decided to shut down their personal sections. The personal sections were one of the most-active subsection on the entire platform:
“US Congress just passed HR 1865, “FOSTA”, seeking to subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully. Any tool or service can be misused. We can’t take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day. To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness!” – via Craigslist post
Craigslist most likely pulled their personal sections due to what FOSTA entails. According to the Act, websites, where sex workers post ads for their “services”, would be held legally responsible for the illegal activity that took place. For instance, if a sex worker “serviced” somebody and the “service” was requested through OKCupid, OKCupid would be held responsible.
It hurts consenting sex workers the most as Craigslist is popular in Las Vegas, where brothels are legal. It seems like the industry needs to get creative with their advertising. Maybe flipping signs in a bikini?
How do you feel about this change to Craiglist? Let us know what you think down below!
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