Sex Trafficking
What the Porn Industry Thinks of the New War on Porn
GOP attacks on internet smut are heating up, but the porn industry has more practical threats to worry about.
Victims or Criminals? Cops Can't Decide When It Comes to Teens Selling Sex
Plus: trade vote today, woman sues DEA for seizing cash belonging to her dad with dementia, and more...
Super Bowl Sex-Trafficking Myths Return
And they're just as wrong and dangerous this time around.
Andrew Yang Is Wrong About Prostitution
The Democratic presidential candidate wants to keep prostitution customers criminalized while "decriminalizing sex work on the part of the seller."
Baltimore Mayor Says Men in White Vans Are Snatching Young Girls for Sex Trafficking
"It's all over Facebook."
Ro Khanna Hopes This Bill Will Pave the Way to Repealing FOSTA
Since FOSTA passed in 2018, "sex workers have faced increased violence" and "have been forced onto the streets," the California congressman says.
The FBI Rebrands Its Sex Worker Harassment Campaign
Operation Independence Day is just Operation Cross Country by a different name.
'This Is a Culture War': Sex Work Decriminalization Bill in D.C. Draws 14 Hours of Passionate Public Testimony
From morning till past midnight, supporters and opponents of a bill to decriminalize prostitution offered starkly different visions of safety and rights.
Students Build Virtual Reality Massage Parlor for Cops
You know, to "fight human trafficking."
Judge Poised to Reject Suit by 90 'Jane Does' Who Say Salesforce Is Responsible for Sex Trafficking
The cases hinges on two laws—FOSTA and Section 230—that have been hotly contested in recent years.
Another Multiracial Family Falsely Accused of Sex Trafficking While Flying
Plus: Juul targeted for smoking cessation claims, federal budget deficit tops $1 trillion, and more...
Elizabeth Nolan Brown Talks About the Secret Backpage Memos and What They Mean for Free Speech Online
Politicians accused the site of victimizing women and children. A federal investigation found otherwise.
Secret Memos Show the Government Has Been Lying About Backpage All Along
Sealed memos fought over in federal court last week show authorities have known for years that claims about Backpage were bogus.
FBI Rebrands National Sex Sting as 'Operation Independence Day'
The operation is still arresting sex workers and calling it a rescue mission.
Ashton Kutcher Helped Promote a Bogus Sex Trafficking Claim. Will We Ever Shake It?
The claim that 100,000 to 300,000 underage people were being sex trafficked in the United States was used in effort to destroy Backpage.com's founders.
Selling Drugs to Sex Workers Could Be Human Trafficking Under the Senate's New 'PROTECT Act'
The bipartisan bill says "using drugs or illegal substances to cause a person to engage in a commercial sex act" or in any kind of labor counts as human trafficking.
Child Sex Trafficking Prosecutions Down Under Trump
For the second year in a row, federal prosecutions for sex trafficking of children have dropped.
Backpage Prosecutors Want to Seize Assets First, Answer Questions Later
Aggressive asset forfeiture collides with First Amendment rights.
Acosta Resigns as Labor Secretary
He says his role in Jeffrey Epstein's plea deal has become a distraction.
Trump—Who Once Said Jeffrey Epstein 'Likes Beautiful Women as Much as I Do'—Moves to Distance Himself From the Disgraced Palm Beach Billionaire
Plus: Gabbard slams Harris' "political ploy," a fair use win for Vanity Fair and Andy Warhol, Hawaii decriminalizes marijuana, and more…
Jeffrey Epstein in Court Today on Sex Trafficking Charges
Plus: How the French could kill U.S. speech, do economic centrists exist?, and more...
Becoming the Libs to Own the Libertarians: Tucker Carlson Praises Elizabeth Warren
Plus: Ashton Kutcher serves up "sex trafficking"-enabled surveillance, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio goes after soft serve, and more...
D.C. Sex Workers Want Decriminalization—and City Council Members Agree
'We know what we want to do with our bodies, and we don't need government interference.'
The Sex Trafficking Panic
"The victims are the sex workers…getting harassed and locked up in cages by the cops."
Stossel: Moral Panic Over Sex Work
Police often accuse people of "sex trafficking." Usually, it’s simply prostitution.
Florida Is Creating a New Sex Offender Registry Just for Prostitution Customers
The bill also targets strip clubs
Massage Parlor Surveillance Videos Can't Be Used in Court, Says Florida Judge
Plus: the biggest trouble with Devin Nunes' Twitter lawsuit, the Senate fails to override Trump's Yemen veto, bad news for the gig economy, and more...
Foggy Sex Trafficking Stats Pop Up in the Bay Area
Did San Francisco really see a 170 percent "spike in human trafficking" last year?
Harvey Weinstein Is Terrible. Calling Him a Sex Trafficker Is Absurd
Nonetheless, a judge will let a sex trafficking complaint against Weinstein proceed.
Multiple Sex-Trafficking Charges Against Allison Mack to be Dropped As Actress Pleads to Extortion
Plus: "content moderation laws are...not about punishing tech companies" and union fees have taken an astonishing hit.
Mom Charged With Falsely Accusing a Man of Trying to Kidnap Her 5-Year-Old at the Mall
Video evidence contradicted Santana Adams' account.
FOSTA's First Test Targets Cloud Company Used by Backpage
Plus: a Robert Kraft/spa-sting update, Florida sex-buyer registry nixed, D.C. activist alleges entrapment, and more sex-work and sex-policy news.
The Mueller Media Hall of Shame: Podcast
Whose hysteria looks silliest in retrospect?
From Momo to Hate Crimes, Skittles Parties, and Sex Trafficking, Fake News Is Clearly a Problem
Fake news is real. Momo is not.
Sneak-and-Peek Warrant for Hidden Cameras at Florida Massage Parlors Faces Scrutiny
We were told this sort of spying would only be used to stop terrorists. And yet...
Homeland Security and Florida Cops Spied on Chinese Massage Workers for Months but Still Couldn't Find Evidence of Human Trafficking
Nine women face felony prostitution charges and hundreds of their customers have been arrested. Florida says it's the real victim.
Kamala Harris Won't Denounce Federal Law That Harms Sex Workers, but May Support Decriminalizing Prostitution
"I think that we have to understand though that it is not as simple as that."
'No Allegations of Human Trafficking' and 'Women Could've Walked Out' In Florida Massage-Parlor Prostitution Stings
Authorities are walking back big claims about an international human-trafficking ring involving Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Patriots Owner Robert Kraft's Bust Is Being Billed as a Human Trafficking Bust, but It Looks More Like Ordinary Prostitution
It's also part of a larger national attack on massage parlors and sex workers.
Last Year Saw 'Furthest-Reaching Attempt to Censor Online Speech' Since the 1990s, Say FOSTA Challengers
As the lawsuit against FOSTA hits appeals court, three essays about the law that everyone should read.
Sex-Trafficking Hysteria Is Eroding Privacy in Hotels, Airplanes, and More: Podcast
Elizabeth Nolan Brown talks about DHS's "Blue Campaign," which is pushing hotel and airline workers to call the feds if they suspect human trafficking.
Cops Say Cindy McCain Didn't Catch Toddler Trafficker at Airport
Plus: Lionel Shriver on cultural erasure and Stormy Daniels on strip-club labor laws
No Evidence to Back Trump's SOTU Sex-Trafficking Claims: Reason Roundup
Plus: New York's CBD-foods crackdown, Laura Loomer gets booted from PayPayl, and more hits from last night's speech.
Are You a Woman Traveling Alone? Marriott Might Be Watching You.
How big hotel chains became arms of the surveillance state.
Kamala Harris Hopes You'll Forget Her Record as a Drug Warrior and Draconian Prosecutor
The senator and presidential hopeful went to bat for dirty prosecutors, opposed marijuana legalization, and championed policies that endanger sex workers.
