AOC Supports Full Repeal Of FOSTA

Legal Issues

from the good-for-her dept

Late last year, a bill was introduced to study the impact of FOSTA. This is important, as all of the evidence to date suggests that it has failed by every possible measure. There is no indication that it has helped to decrease sex trafficking — in fact the indications are that it has enabled more sex trafficking. Indeed, law enforcement has directly admitted that the law has actually made it more difficult to track down traffickers. And, of course, there’s tremendous evidence that it has had a real human cost in putting (non-trafficked) sex workers at significant risk.

As more in Congress realize this, it’s been good to see some calling for a careful study into the impact. And now Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been the first (as far as I can tell) to come right out and say the law should be totally repealed, specifically calling out the harm that it has done to sex workers. It’s great to see politicians realizing that all the lame rhetoric that was pushed out in favor of the law was bullshit.

Of course, because AOC is such a polarizing figure in these insanely partisan times, the usual crew of AOC haters have immediately started spewing absolute idiocy online claiming — falsely — that she supports sex trafficking. It was this kind of bogus rhetoric that helped get this damaging law passed in the first place. But, since Republicans love to try to mock everything AOC says, we get silly statements like this from Rep. Pete Olson saying that she wants to “re-open the floodgates of human trafficking” and pointing to “64 human traffickers busted” in Fort Bend (in his district). While it is true that local officials arrested 64 people in a sting operation, and told the press it was for trafficking, few details have been provided. In most similar announcements, later research often found that the operations had little to do with trafficking, and were just standard sex work. Either way, if FOSTA was supposed to stop such “trafficking,” it seems like Olson is flat out admitting that it didn’t work here.

And, of course, Senator Josh Hawley — who you may recall, has decided that he alone should make all UI decisions for the internet — has ridiculously claimed that this is AOC “supporting big tech and sex trafficking” when it’s literally neither of those things. The idea that partisan idiots are jumping on this just because of who is suggesting it is perhaps not surprising, but still disappointing.

Even if you disagree with AOC on other things, it’s a good thing that she recognizes what a failure FOSTA has been and how it’s put lives in jeopardy. Repealing FOSTA is the right move and kudos to AOC for being the first Congressional Rep to come out and advocate for it.

Filed Under: alexandria ocasio-cortez, aoc, fosta, intermediary liability, josh hawley, pete olson, repeal, section 230, sex trafficking