The 2018 law criminalizes websites that "promote or facilitate" prostitution. Two of three judges on the panel pushed back against government claims that this doesn't criminalize speech.
In a post-FOSTA world, Section 230 still protects websites from lawsuits over criminal sexual conduct by their users.
The case is now on appeal after a lower court said the ban on websites promoting prostitution didn't concern protected speech.
The SAFE SEX Workers Study Act would look at the impact of FOSTA and the seizure of sites like Backpage and Rentboy.
A federal judge says an anti-porn group's suit against Twitter can move forward, in a case that could portend a dangerous expansion of how courts define "sex trafficking."
The only thing FOSTA has done is chill speech and make catching sex traffickers more difficult.
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The new bill takes aim at internet freedom and privacy under the pretense of saving kids.
Since FOSTA passed in 2018, "sex workers have faced increased violence" and "have been forced onto the streets," the California congressman says.
The cases hinges on two laws—FOSTA and Section 230—that have been hotly contested in recent years.
Did San Francisco really see a 170 percent "spike in human trafficking" last year?
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.
"I think that we have to understand though that it is not as simple as that."
As the lawsuit against FOSTA hits appeals court, three essays about the law that everyone should read.
2018 was a mixed bag, but that means there was still a lot of good news.
Plus: Trump changes his mind about military spending and why Rand Paul hates Trump's new attorney general pick.
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An inside look at how indie media veterans James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.
Plus: digital privacy concerns down 11 percent since 2015
The bill makes "promoting prostitution" a federal crime, holds websites legally liable for user-posted content, and lets states retroactively prosecute offenders.
A related measure would open digital platforms to liability for past crimes committed by users.