Blog Post #2:
How I’ve Been Dealing with SESTA/FOSTA and The EARN IT Act
June 29, 2023
I’ve been able to identify moments where I lean into stoicism under severe amounts of emotional stress. I used to practice this stoicism all the time under my caretaker role as a teenager in an Asian household. My logic was that it would be one less emotion to deal with under the whirlwind of emotions everyone else was feeling at home. It felt like a noble cause to repress my feelings for familial piety. So these days it’s not unusual for me to feel numbness when something is looming —my emotions, people, and my identity start to feel far away.
This is a feeling I’ve been reencountering more recently. It happens when there is a threat to my livelihood and wellbeing. Sometime around the weekend of Pride I was de-platformed from OnlyFans. I should note that this isn’t the first time I’ve been been banished from the digital space; if you’ve been with me since the beginning you know that this has happened to me numerous times on Instagram. Getting de-platformed may not seem like a big deal to someone with a conventional means of income but for a s-worker it’s a threat to one’s livelihood and a reminder that this government wants s-workers dead.
I want to dive into the facts so I can share my struggle with those of you who are genuinely interested in what goes on in my head. The bills SESTA/FOSTA and EARN IT impact how WE ALL move through the internet, so even as friends and clients you should be aware of these issues too.
SESTA (The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act) and FOSTA (The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) were passed in 2018. If you understand the liberal mind you know that this so-called cry to save trafficked persons through legislation is total horse shit. SESTA/FOSTA work to suspend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) —the section that can be credited for creating the online communities we see today. Section 230 of the CDA legally alleviated all online platform providers of responsibility to govern or censor user’s uploaded content. SESTA/FOSTA amends Section 230 by suspending this protection, this now makes online platform providers liable for user uploaded content that may be perceived as sexual solicitation. What does this look like? —websites (aka online platform providers) are forced to censor any user uploaded content that maybe perceived as soliciting sexual services to avoid risk for potential litigation. Yes, “perceived” is subjective so it’s no surprise if you’ve once posted an innocent picture of a raw turkey on your Instagram story and received a terms of service violation message from Zuckerberg.
What is the EARN IT Act? —The EARN IT Act (Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act) was introduced in 2020 and amended in 2022 with even more restrictions. Allegedly the bill’s function is to eliminate the distribution of child sexual abuse material via amendment of Section 230 of the CDA. It is already federal law for websites to report this, but now this law will encourage websites to proactively seek and flag any sexual content (again) to avoid any potential risk that may lead to legal repercussions. (This doesn’t address the issue of stopping child sexual abuse material, you can read more about that here.)
Together what is SESTA/FOSTA and EARN IT Act’s role in internet fascism? —Essentially SESTA/FOSTA pressures online platform providers to censor user’s content; in combination with the EARN IT Act that legally permits the state to prosecute any services or websites that provide end-to-end encryption that does not grant law enforcement access to private communications (messages, content, data etc.).
How does this impact me as a s-worker?
It impacts my income which is directly linked to my livelihood and wellbeing. Each time I am removed from an online platform this disrupts my income stability. I am losing opportunities to advertise my services or let you know that I exist (and how I am living and existing in this world).
If my colleagues and I were entirely removed from online platforms whether it be mainstream services like Instagram or more specified adult pages like Tryst, we would be forced to solicit our services through street based s-work or put our lives in the hands of shady bosses. With street based s-work it is nearly impossible to screen clients which leaves us susceptible to abuse and encounters with law enforcement. While woking for a boss who claims to vet clients and who supposedly has our best interest —we are more likely to experience abuse and greater exploitation. (A handful of you may remember I started working out of clubs and spas for some questionable bosses).
Online platforms keep s-workers safe. Aside from being able to perform client screenings, the benefits of using online platforms to seek providers and clients goes both ways. The fact that I can connect with you virtually is a big deal because you’re able to preview who I am and our potential compatibility. You can sense the quality in connection with a provider when we feel safer and have an idea of who you are as a person, not just a client.
Congragulations if you’ve managed to finish reading my heavily sourced blog post. Truly, it means a lot to me knowing that my friends/clients take an interest in my struggles and can understand that my struggles are intertwined with yours. Thank you to those of you who continue to support my work despite these systemic obstacles.
XOXO
Mistress Trinity
https://decriminalizesex.work/advocacy/sesta-fosta/what-is-sesta-fosta/
https://decriminalizesex.work/advocacy/earn-it-act/
https://www.eff.org/document/fostasesta-one-pager
https://hackinghustling.org/what-is-sesta-fosta/