A Dark and Stormy Week for Free Speech: Podcast
While America gawks at tales of consensual Trump-spanking, Internet freedom is coming under legislative and cultural attack
Sex Trafficking
Hours After FOSTA Passes, Reddit Bans 'Escorts' and 'SugarDaddy' Communities
The great content crackdown has begun.
FOSTA Passes Senate, Making Prostitution Ads a Federal Crime Against Objections from DOJ and Trafficking Victims
The measure will "make it harder, not easier, to root out and prosecute sex traffickers," said Sen. Ron Wyden, one of only two senators to vote no on FOSTA.
The Lunacy of Trump's Trade War: Podcast
Reason editors dispute presidential notion that "trade wars are good, and easy to win," and also argue over the Oscars.
$20 Fee for Porn Access Proposed in Rhode Island
Device makers would be required to block porn, prostitution hubs, and all content that fails "current standards of decency."
Florida Lawmaker Drops Proposal to Let Victims of Sex Trafficking Sue Hotels
Disney allegedly lobbied against the bill behind the scenes.
House Passes 'Anti Sex-Trafficking' Bill Opposed by Both DOJ and Trafficking Survivors
The bill makes "promoting prostitution" a federal crime, holds websites legally liable for user-posted content, and lets states retroactively prosecute offenders.
'Keep Your Tyranny Off Our Titties,' Say New Orleans Strippers
In a series of protests, strip club workers and their allies are pushing back against abusive policing.
Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Myth Gives Good Cover for Federal Security Theater
Minneapolis is being transformed into a police state.
Texas Cops Charge 'Child Sex Trafficking Victim' With Felony
They also arrested her younger friend for prostitution.
The Phony Feminism of Kamala Harris
Harris only cares about other women's rights when those rights don't conflict with her career ambitions.
The 10 Worst Helicopter Parenting Moments of 2017
It isn't just parents. Cops, schools, reporters, bureaucrats and busybodies got in on the action this year.
The Best Sex Work Writing of 2017
We rounded up the year's best writing, reporting, and research on erotic industries, those who work in them, and how they're getting screwed by U.S. authorities and laws.
Prostitution Ad Ban Creeps Forward, Threatening Social Media and Sex Workers
The bill would gut Section 230 and make sex advertising a federal crime.
Posting or Hosting Sex Ads Could Mean 25 Years in Federal Prison Under New Republican Proposal
A related measure would open digital platforms to liability for past crimes committed by users.
Tampa Bathhouses Become Latest Target of Sex-Trafficking Panic
The city council is considering a mammoth package of new rules that threaten Tampa bathhouses and those who visit them.
Harvey Weinstein Sued for Sex Trafficking by British Actress Kadian Noble
Weinstein Company staff aided in the trafficking by arranging auditions for young female actors "using the code FOH"-for "Friend of Harvey"-the suit states.
Stossel: Who Owns Your Body?
John Stossel confronts a prostitute, a pimp and an anti-prostitution crusader.
Feds Keeping Homeland Secure with Fake Sex-Trafficking Busts
As America deals with terrorist attacks and mass shootings, DHS and the FBI are busy enforcing misdemeanor vice laws.
Feds Crack Down on New National Security Threat: Unlicensed Massages
Massage-parlor panic is crushing small businesses, civil liberties, and people's lives. Here are eight examples from October.
Senate Could Make It Easy for FBI to Spy on Teen Sexters, Black Lives Matter, and Other U.S. 'Criminals'
FISA reauthorization would majorly expand use of warrantless digital surveillance data against Americans.
Feds 'Rescue' Women from Freedom and Money in 11th 'Operation Cross Country'
Hear from the real victims of this cruel FBI charade.
Cases Dropped Against California Cops Accused of Statutory Rape, Prostitution With Police Dispatcher's Daughter
Judge says Bay Area cops accused of sex crimes might not have known that Oakland teenager "Celeste Guap" was underage.
There Aren't Enough Beds in This Virginia Jail for All the Women Caught in Heroin and 'Human Trafficking' Dragnets
"We don't have enough space for them," said sheriff.
Mom's Run-In with Alleged Sex Traffickers Goes Viral. But Nothing Happened.
It could happen to you, whatever "it" is.
Human-Trafficking Arrests Are Very Rare in Most States
The exceptions in 2016 were Minnesota and Texas, according to newly released FBI data.
Wiretapping Sex Workers, Punishing Pre-Crime, and National Strategy to Stop Sex-Buyers Approved by Senate
Congress moves to grant Trump administration vast new policing powers, because "sex trafficking."
Husband Gets Human-Trafficking Charge for Driving His Wife to a Motel
There was no trafficking victim here-just a couple attempting private sexual activity with another consenting adult. But Maryland cops don't care.
Backpage Executives Escape Pimping Charges Kamala Harris Brought (Twice) Against Them
The state will continue to pursue money-laundering charges against Carl Ferrer, Michael Lacey, and James Larkin.
Child Sex-Trafficking Victim Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Prison for Child Sex-Trafficking
Hope Zeferjohn's role was limited to chatting with the "victim"-who was never actually trafficked-on Facebook.
No, the Solar Eclipse Will Not Cause a Spike in Sex Trafficking
Like all things 2017, an old urban legend takes an even more ridiculous turn.
How Backpage and Similar Sites Are Crucial in Fight Against Sex Trafficking
A new paper in the Wake Forest Law Review explores "the virtues of unvirtuous spaces" when it comes to stopping sexual exploitation.
They Won't Stop at Backpage
The "Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act" would not stop sexual exploitation. But it could blow up the legal framework that supports the internet as we know it.
Missouri Attorney General Hawley Files Desperate and Deceptive Motion to Dismiss Backpage Lawsuit
AG Josh Hawley's "new evidence" against the U.S. company is actions carried out by foreign contractors for foreign websites.
Sexual Consent in Seattle Must Involve Element of 'Leisure,' Claims Top Cop
What Korean sex workers "were doing could not be called consensual because they were being paid," Val Richey tells The Seattle Times.
Lawmakers Demand Sessions Investigate Backpage's 'Criminal Role in Sex Trafficking' in Wake of Misleading Washington Post Article
Post says Backpage hired a contractor that catfished on foreign competitors' sites.
Damning New Report Shows How Oakland Cops Covered Up Their Sexual Exploitation of a Minor
Making matters worse, the report concludes, was "the tone at the top."
Airport Scrutiny to Get Worse as House Moves to Mandate Sex-Trafficking Training
FAA reauthorization bill would require airline ticket-counter and gate agents to be trained on reporting "potential human trafficking victims."
Cindy McCain's Charities Are Plagued With Scandal and Corruption. Now Trump Wants to Make Her Human Rights Ambassador
Examining McCain's philanthropic past reveals a long history of personal abuse of nonprofit resources, shady connections, and shoddy work.
Cindy McCain: Crony Philanthropist
From pill theft to cozying up to authoritarians, Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador on human rights has a long history of abusing the system.
Cops Have Lost Control of Their Sex-Trafficking Panic, and It's Beautiful
Even the police can't control human-trafficking hysteria anymore, and it could backfire for them.
Congress Wants to Let Cops Wiretap Sex Workers, the CDC Study Them, and Homeland Security Screen Them
A batch of frightening new bills take aim at all sorts of civil liberties under the guise of stopping sexual exploitation.
Jeff Sessions Says Social Media, Encrypted Apps Hamper War on 'Modern Slavery'
These are the tools of pornographers, "sextortionists," and human traffickers, Sessions told a police conference this week.
'Operation Big Bad John' Used 75 Cops, Six Federal Agencies to Catch 13 Sex Buyers
Naturally, they're portraying it as a success.
Alaska Cops Fight for the Right to Sexually Exploit Prostitution Suspects
New laws are under debate, but the practice is more common than you think.
Judge Orders Oakland Cop to Trial; Says He Was 'Like a Pimp' to Exploited Teen
Former Oakland cop Brian Bunton is one of dozens of area police officers who've been implicated in the sexual exploitation of "Celeste Guap."
