Although The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) passed by the Senate has not yet been signed by president Trump, it is already causing widespread effects in the industry.
As we already reported, Craigs List has dropped all the personals sections and Rentmen4now is over. Recently Reddit joined them, eliminating full folders of controversial topics. Also Google is erasing all pornographic materials out of Google Drive.
Lastly Rentmen has an army of editors going manually ad by ad and client profile by client profile, erasing rates, URLs of third parties, and anything that triggers their paranoia.
They sent me this message:
“We would like to inform you that due to some recently introduced legal requirements in your region, your About Me text was reviewed and may be modified.
Be aware, that any text that may be considered as promotion of prostitution is strictly forbidden, as well any information about rates or donations. Also, it is not allowed to publish phone numbers, email addresses or external links.
If you need any clarifications, please contact us!
Thank you for your understanding!
Your RentMen team”
What they erased out of my profile was a link to this blog.
Fosta Effect in my circle
In my circle the most felt effect is the disappearance of Craigs List personals. It is an outlet I never explored, so I cannot speak of it. However many of my friends are desperately looking for a replacement. Some are trying other sections inside the site, like hobbies. Others are googling for alternative websites and finding plenty, just not as popular and populated as the original.
A few escorts deleted their profiles. Which is weird, as the new law seems to target the online platform, not the professionals or the clients.
Anyway, the full extent of its effects is yet to be seen. Many of my friends are skeptical about Trump signing in the law or, in case he does, the law being actually enforceable.
Keep on checking us, I am sure we will have more news about this.
