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 Work
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.
Libertarian Party Adopts New Sex Work Plank, Becomes Only Notable U.S. Party to Endorse Prostitution Decriminalization
The LP's move comes the same week the Green Party explicitly rejected a platform that protects sex worker rights.
Why Does the Press Routinely Misidentify Prostitution as 'Sex Trafficking'?: Podcast
Reason's Elizabeth Nolan Brown on libertarian feminism, how to encrypt your email, and more
D.C. Candidates Battle Over Decriminalizing Sex Work
With the D.C. primary approaching, candidates are quizzed on a bill that would decriminalize prostitution in the district.
When You're Done Reading This Issue of Reason, You Might Want to Burn It
We offer how-tos, personal stories, and guides for all kinds of activities that can and do happen right at the borders of legally permissible behavior.
What to Know Before You Pay for Sex
Tips, tricks, and common sense to make hiring an escort a breeze
Human Trafficking Court in Delaware Shuts Down for Lack of Human-Trafficking Victims
The Delaware Criminal Justice Council found it difficult to "justify the resources that have been expend on so few" participants with such a "low rate of success."
Anti-Sex Work Crusaders Now Coming for Legal Prostitution in Nevada
"Of course the voices of actual sex workers are nowhere to be found," says brothel worker and PhD student Christina Parreira.
Pardon Jack Johnson
The White Slavery Panic of the late 19th/early 20th centuries caused Congress to pass the vaguely-worded Mann Act. It allowed the FBI and prosecutors broad discretion to go after individuals they didn't like.
Backpage Plea to Texas Sex Trafficking Charge Turns On CEO's Admission to Brokering Adult Prostitution
Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer turned over the company and seven other executives in exchange for leniency.
Backpage Founder's 93 Charges Lack Actual Sex-Trafficking Claims
Indictment reveals money-laundering, conspiracy charges, and a tricky federal law known as the Travel Act.
