Sex workers leave Twitter for Switter after controversial US law
Sex workers leave Twitter for Switter after controversial
US law
By Elizabeth Schumacher, Deutsche Welle Published 8:58
a.m. ET June 29, 2018
Sex workers have been a mainstay on social networks for
more than a decade. Twitter in particular handed escorts a number of tools that
allowed them to protect themselves ― a way to screen clients, anonymity, the
ability to find customers without taking to the streets or working for a pimp.
But since April, sex workers have almost completely
vanished from Twitter, instead flocking to the Austrian domain Switter.at.
Why? Because that was the month the U.S. Congress passed
a bill known as FOSTA/SESTA (short for Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and
Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, respectively) which is aimed at curbing
underage sex trafficking and holds internet service providers liable for what
users might create on their platforms.
However, the controversial law has had a series of
negative consequences for adult escorts who are plying their trade willingly.
"This bill means any site sex workers use, even in
their personal life, can be held liable. In reaction to this, we have already
seen sites like Reddit, Craigslist and Skype begin to change their terms and
silence or ban us from their platforms. Particularly in the U.S., these sites
are absolutely vital to sex workers. This will only force many more workers
into the hands of exploitation and street work…there is a much higher chance of
ending up in a potentially life threatening situation," explained a
spokesperson for Assembly Four, the Melbourne, Australia-based firm that runs
Switter and its associated site, Tryst, through an Austrian domain.
This setup is because while any .com domain could in
theory be targeted by the new U.S. law, in Austria, where prostitution is
legal, escorts can maintain their privacy and safety without breaking any laws.
The Assembly Four spokesperson, who asked to remain
anonymous, also warned that this law has far-reaching consequences even for
those who have nothing to do with sex work, as it paves the way "for a
potentially fully censored and manipulated internet in the future."
Although the company's servers have not yet been fully
moved to the European Union and Switzerland, according to Assembly Four that's
the plan for the future, not only because of the legal status of sex work there
but also because in Europe "data privacy is held in higher
importance."
The homepage of Switter looks a lot like Twitter's
TweetDeck, and allows members to search for clients or escorts based on
location, as well as providing a means of communication for the sex work
industry, enabling life-saving conversations like sharing client lists.
"Switter is run by sex workers and technologists who
have sex workers at the front of their mind when developing new features…Shadow
banning sex workers on Twitter has been around long before FOSTA/SESTA. Since
the introduction of the law it's only become worse."
Assembly Four maintains that its platform is also much
safer than Twitter ever was. The organization underlines that it takes
"very minimal information from our users, we actively remove any known
pimps, cases of human trafficking or anyone seen as harassing workers. Twitter
runs in a very different way and has a different set of priorities on its
platform. "
The company right now has around 100,000 escorts and
allies on its site, and continues to grow every month. Back in the U.S.,
resistance to FOSTA/SESTA has also been growing.
Besides its impact on sex workers, advocates for free
speech and small businesses have voiced their concern over the new law.
Referring to Section 230, the privacy law nixed by
FOSTA/SESTA, Nuala O'Connor, the president and CEO of the center for Democracy
and Technology, said: "Anything controversial, unpopular or outside the
mainstream could [be viewed] as a major risk of liability that many
intermediaries simply couldn't afford to take on. An internet without Section
230 is one that diminishes the voice of the individual online."
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