Foggy Sex Trafficking Stats Pop Up in the Bay Area
Did San Francisco really see a 170 percent "spike in human trafficking" last year?
Sex Work
What Brothels Can Teach All of Us About Risk
Allison Schrager's An Economist Walks Into a Brothel demystifies sex work, big-wave surfing, horse-breeding, and other high-risk professions.
An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: What Prostitutes and Big-Wave Surfers Can Teach Us About Risk
Allison Schrager wants to change the way you take chances.
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.
Feds Say Ohio Vice Cop Andrew Mitchell Abducted Women and Forced Them Into Sex
Authorities wouldn't say whether the charges related to Donna Dalton, who was shot to death by Mitchell last August.
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.
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.
Nastya Rybka Freed From Russian Jail After Vowing Not to Leak More Dirt on Deripaska
After months imprisoned in Thailand, the Belarusian citizen was deported to Moscow and promptly arrested on charges of luring people into prostitution.
Hello, FIRST STEP Act! Goodbye, Jeff Sessions! The Year in Criminal Justice Reform
2018 was a mixed bag, but that means there was still a lot of good news.
Congress Ramps Up War on Sex Workers and Their Customers With Secret Votes on Four New 'Protection' Laws
A national strategy for arresting sex buyers and letting local cops wiretap sex workers are among the approved changes.
Sex Workers Around the World Demand Decriminalization: Reason Roundup
Plus: Obamacare unconstitutional?
Human Trafficking Grant Goes to Arrest Suspected Victims in Tucson
A Tucson Weekly investigation finds that federal funds to "fight sex trafficking" are actually perpetuating it.
The #ThotAudit Is Deeply, Painfully Stupid
The snitch crusade is ostensibly about making sure hot women aren't making money off their hotness without giving the government a cut.
Facebook Supported 'Sex Trafficking' Law FOSTA to Cozy Up to Republican Critics: Reason Roundup
Plus: Trump endorses sentencing reform and Bitcoin's value continues to fall.
The Backpage Scandal Isn't What You Think
How indie media entrepreneurs James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.
'Mobile Brothels' Could Be Enabled by Self-Driving Cars, But That Doesn't Mean They Will: Reason Roundup
Plus: Amazon goes to Washington (for good) and Chicago cops shoot man who stopped bar shooting.
Anti-Porn Republicans Haven't Gone Anywhere
The porn wars haven't died, they're just packaged differently.
Ex-Nevada Brothel Owner Dennis Hof Wins Assembly Seat Despite Being Dead
He's not the first dead person to win an election.
San Diego Police Creepily Forced Strippers to Pose for Photos. Now the City's Paying $1.5 Million.
A city ordinance let officers harass women as part of a licensing inspection process. A judge ruled it unconstitutional.
No, Feds Can't Force Backpage Founders to Give Up Longtime Lawyers, Rules Judge
The ruling is a major win for Backpage founders James Larkin and Michael Lacey, as well as a strike against government overreach.
Death of Dennis Hof, the 'P.T. Barnum of Booty,' Leaves Uncertain Future for Nevada Brothels and Senate Seat
Hof had a huge impact on legal sex work in Nevada and his death has spurred a heady mix of reactions.
Strip Club Staffers Arrested With Stormy Daniels Sue, Claiming Cops Lied As Republican Retaliation
Police initially said the arrests were part of "a long-term investigation into...human trafficking" and prostitution.
This Is How Sex-Trafficking Panic Gets Made
Plus: fight against FOSTA continues and Tennessee trooper reports Democrat for visiting falafel restaurant.
Can DHS Shoot Down Citizen Drones? House Votes Today: Reason Roundup
Plus: why Gary Johnson will be good for the Senate, "toxic culture" at the TSA, the dismissal of an anti-FOSTA lawsuit, and a new economic freedom index.
House to Vote on 'Human Trafficking' Bill That Strengthens PATRIOT Act Spying
The PATRIOT Act fell out of fashion-but swap "human trafficker" for "terrorist" and let the civil liberties infringements roll!
Houston, We've Got a Problem—with Robot Brothels?
Activists petition to stop a sex-doll shop.
Cody Wilson, 3D-Printed Gun Pioneer, Arrested in Taiwan
Wilson's passport was revoked following a warrant for his arrest in Texas for having paid sex with an underage girl.
Sex Trafficking in San Diego Massage Parlors Blamed on U.S. Military
But the real problem here isn't human-trafficking troops, it's regulators raising crime panic.
Texas Border Patrol Agent Confesses to Killing Sex Workers
A 10-year veteran of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Ortiz is also a "serial murderer" say Texas authorities.
NYPD Cops Busted for Running a Prostitution and Gambling Ring
An ex-NYPD detective allegedly used his knowledge of police procedure to keep the operation afloat.
Kamala Harris, Foe of Legal Sex Work, Questions Whether Laws Exist That Control Male Bodies
Fun fact: All laws give government control of the decisions that everybody of any gender can do with their bodies.
'National Sex Trafficking Crackdown' Nets Zero Sex Traffickers
Plus: Another one of NYU professor Avital Ronell's teaching assistants talks, and Tucker Carlson goes after Amazon.
Why the Press Conflates Prostitution with Sex Trafficking—and Why That's a Threat To Free Speech: Podcast
Elizabeth Nolan Brown exposes the flimsy case against the alt-weekly pioneers accused of facilitating sex trafficking through Backpage.com.
The Senate Accused Them of Selling Kids for Sex. The FBI Raided Their Homes. Backpage.com's Founders Speak for the First Time.
An inside look at how indie media veterans James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.
Surprise! The Ban on Digital Sex Ads Didn't Work
Plus: digital privacy concerns down 11 percent since 2015
Nevada Assembly Candidate Dennis Hof Loses Brothel License
Love Ranch, a brothel owned by Nevada Assembly candidate Dennis Hof, loses their brothel license.
Jinx the Anarchist Sex Worker Goes to Washington
Representatives of the oldest profession were on Capitol Hill fighting FOSTA and SESTA, with our online freedoms hanging in the balance.
Stormy Daniels Strips for Me and a Roomful of Journalists
...and reminds everyone that sometimes a strip show is just a strip show.
Sex Workers Meet in Los Angeles To Draft Statement of Principles
A new manifesto calls for sex-worker rights.
