What is SESTA/FOSTA? And how has it impacted the pole industry?

Some background

As the US government continues to implement the ideas of Project 2025, things are becoming more challenging for SWers, pole humans, and those who work in p0rnography (these are not mutually exclusive groups, but all are targets).

The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Acts (SESTA) and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) were enacted during the first Trump administration in April 2018. The impacts of these laws still affect SWers and others and are the basis for many other laws coming into effect now.

This resource post explains SESTA-FOSTA in plain language and highlights the implications for SWers and broader pole community.

SESTA originated in the Senate, while FOSTA originated in the House of Representatives, both bills seek to amend Section 230 of the Communications and Decency Act and were merged into one piece of legislation.

Section 230 of Communications and Decency Act

The Communications and Decency Act has been in effect since 1996. The full act is over 100 pages long and can be read here. Section 230, in plain language says platforms are not responsible for user-generated content. This allows sites like 4chan, 8kun, and Truth Social to exist without content moderation.

Section 230 contains its own caveats that basically say “this law is not your defense if you are committing sex trafficking offenses.” Despite this, many states and conservative elected officials seek to harden laws against sex traffickers, but often their approach puts SWers and the very people they seek to protect (victims of human trafficking/sex trafficking) at risk.

SESTA-FOSTA and the Financial Sector

After SESTA-FOSTA became law, OnlyFans made an announcement that they were banning all adult content—a strange move for a website known for hosting adult content. OnlyFans stated this move was made as they had a “reputational risk” with banks for being associated with adult sexual content. Other sites, such as Tumblr and Instagram have also made moves to limit adult content on their sites, with Tumblr banning all adult content in 2018, and Instagram amending their terms of service in 2020.

The impact of SESTA-FOSTAA on SWers

Research done by Danielle Blunt and Ariel Wolf submitted to the Anti-trafficking Review (full article here) looks at the impact of SESTA-FOSTA based on the experience of SWers.

Blunt and Wolf partnered with Whose Corner Is It Anyway to create a survey and distribute to a number of SWers currently working and using the internet for their work.

Respondents said the passage for SESTA-FOSTA:

• Reduced their ability to work independently online
• Took away harm/risk mitigation pathways
• Created less financial security for SWers.

Additionally, the passage of SESTA-FOSTAA has reduced the ability for SWers to share information among the community.

There is also no evidence that SESTA-FOSTA has reduced trafficking. 

The US Department of Justice has even testified that the passage of SESTA-FOSTAmakes it harder to investigate instances of sex trafficking because the perpetrators have fled from known spaces to places investigators must find.

What You Can Do

We’ve said it before and we will say it again: it can feel overwhelming to deal with things like this that are largely out of our direct control (unless you are a Supreme Court Justice or other lawmaker).

Here are some specific action items you can do:

• Stay informed. Being informed does not mean being stuck to the newscycle which we know can be negatively impactful on mental health. Take breaks but please don’t disengage completely.
• Consider contacting your local and state-level representatives and explain to them how this hurts you as a constituent.  Apps like 5Calls can help you figure out how to contact your representatives and provide a script
• Support small pole industry businesses and pole-preneurs! Check out the IPIA directory as a starting point. The PoleCon website also maintains a directory of pole businesses.
• If you are a pole-preneur, build your mailing list and find other ways (such as attending events – online/inperson/free/paid/whatever you can do!) to meet people and build your network outside of social media.
• If you’re a pole-preneur, make your space a safe space for SWers! (no wh0rephobia in your studio, provide a community meeting space, etc.)

We don’t know what the future will hold. 

>> We do know that laws continue to be passed and upheld that limit SW. Read about the latest Supreme Court decision that will directly and likely immediately impact the p0rn industry. This decision could also impact the parts of pole industry not directly/clearly involved in SW at this link (that’s studio polers, sport polers, etc.) so please do not turn a blind eye if you *think* this doesn’t apply to you. It hurts everyone that uses a pole for business.