[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10456 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10456
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study
to assess the unintended impacts on the health and safety of people
engaged in transactional sex, in connection with the enactment of the
Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017
and the loss of interactive computer services that host information
related to sexual exchange, to direct the Attorney General to submit a
report on human trafficking investigations and prosecutions in
connection with the same, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 17, 2024
Mr. Khanna (for himself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Norton,
Mr. McGovern, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Tlaib, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study
to assess the unintended impacts on the health and safety of people
engaged in transactional sex, in connection with the enactment of the
Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017
and the loss of interactive computer services that host information
related to sexual exchange, to direct the Attorney General to submit a
report on human trafficking investigations and prosecutions in
connection with the same, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``SESTA/FOSTA Examination of Secondary
Effects for Sex Workers Study Act'' or the ``SAFE SEX Workers Study
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) People who engage in consensual, transactional sex
utilize online platforms to protect their health, safety, and
independence. This use includes building community connections,
distribution of harm reduction information and techniques,
identification and screening of potential clients, sale of
media and remote services and negotiating the terms of
consensual, transactional sex services, including condom use
and other harm reduction strategies.
(2) Widespread discrimination against populations,
including LGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly transgender women
of color, prevents many from accessing formal employment
resources, traditional financial services, and educational
opportunities.
(3) In the 2015 United States Transgender Survey conducted
by the National Center for Transgender Equality, 19 percent of
respondents reported having exchanged sex for resources, such
as for money, food, or a place to sleep. Transgender women of
color, including Black (42 percent), American Indian (28
percent), multiracial (27 percent), Latina (23 percent), and
Asian (22 percent) respondents were more likely to have
participated in sex work than the overall sample.
(4) In the 2015 United States Transgender Survey,
respondents who experienced homelessness in the past year (17
percent) were more than 3 times as likely to have participated
in sex work during that year compared to the overall sample.
(5) On a broader scale, internet platforms foster
connections between people and play an integral part in
American society. Access to digital platforms has been
essential for activists, distribution of harm reduction
information and reproductive and sexual health information, and
fostering connections between people who face geographic
barriers. Meaningful regulation of internet platforms must take
into account the role they play in the health, safety, and
privacy of all people's lives.
(6) While policymakers, representatives of internet
platforms, and some advocates have discussed ways to mitigate
the use of internet platforms to decrease exploitation, people
who consensually trade sex are rarely involved in the drafting
of legislation or policies, or in assessing their impact,
despite being amongst the populations who are impacted by
legislation and policies related to the regulation of these
internet platforms.
(7) On February 27, 2018, the House of Representatives
passed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex
Trafficking Act of 2017 (commonly known as ``SESTA/FOSTA'').
While SESTA/FOSTA holds websites liable for user-generated
content that facilitates sex trafficking, it also impacts
online platforms where users discuss consensual sex work and
related topics.
(8) Contemporaneously with the passage of SESTA/FOSTA in
the Senate on March 21, 2018, websites preemptively shut down,
some directly citing the law's passage as the rationale for
closure.
(9) One week before President Donald Trump signed SESTA/
FOSTA into law, the Department of Justice seized Backpage.com
and arrested Backpage employees, citing promotion of
prostitution and money laundering charges, similar to the
Department of Homeland Security's seizure of Rentboy.com only a
few years prior.
(10) While these websites and individual accounts have been
closing down, there has been no national investigation
rigorously examining the impact of losing access to these
platforms on the health and safety of people in consensual,
transactional sex work. Regional and anecdotal information from
health and safety service providers and sex workers has pointed
to significant impacts on the health and safety of people who
engage in consensual, transactional sex.
(11) Community organizations have reported increased
homelessness of sex workers, including of sex workers who are
caretakers for their families and have lost the economic
stability provided by access to online platforms.
(12) Sex workers have reported a reduced ability to screen
potential clients for safety, and negotiate for boundaries such
as condom use, resulting in reports of physical and sexual
violence.
(13) Many sex workers have turned to street-based work,
which has historically involved higher rates of violence than
other forms of transactional sex. Street-based sex workers have
frequently noted practices which harm their health and safety,
such as the confiscation of condoms by police, or use of
condoms as evidence of arrest for prostitution.
(14) With this new level of precarity, isolation, and
vulnerability, there is substantial anecdotal evidence that
members of the sex work community are more frequently being
contacted by third parties seeking to engage in management
activities. This includes both sex workers who had always
worked independently, as well as those who have previously
experienced violence and exploitation by a third party.
(15) The Federal Government has long discussed the
importance of assessing collateral consequences when looking at
other industries. Comprehensive studies are essential to
evaluate the impact on human trafficking investigations and
prosecutions, and the health and safety of those involved in
consensual, transactional sex, who are increasingly losing
access to digital platforms, which have been used for harm
reduction information and techniques, and to screen clients.
Informed government policies begin with seeking out relevant
information to better guide our actions moving forward.
SEC. 3. STUDY ON UNINTENDED IMPACTS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PEOPLE
ENGAGED IN TRANSACTIONAL SEX AS A RESULT OF THE LOSS OF
CERTAIN ONLINE RESOURCES.
(a) Study.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to
in this section as the ``Secretary''), in consultation, as appropriate,
with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and the Assistant
Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall study the impacts
on the health and safety of people engaged in transactional sex
resulting from the loss of access to interactive computer services (as
defined in section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
230(f))) in connection with the closure of websites (including
Backpage.com) that host information related to consensual sexual
exchange, on or after February 27, 2018, in anticipation of, or in
response to, the enactment of the Allow States and Victims to Fight
Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-164).
(b) Interviews and Surveys.--The study under subsection (a) shall
include interviews with, and surveys conducted by, nonprofit and
community-based organizations that provide direct services to people
engaged in transactional sex.
(c) Topics.--The study under subsection (a) shall include
assessment of the following impacts on people engaged in transactional
sex:
(1) Changes in access to technology-related harm reduction
services, including social media services.
(2) Changes in ability to negotiate terms with potential
clients.
(3) Changes in experiences of violence from clients.
(4) Changes in interactions with law enforcement officials,
including changes in police surveillance, stops, and arrests.
(5) Changes in contact from third parties.
(6) Changes in relationship to and reliance on third
parties.
(7) Changes in experiences of exploitation and trafficking.
(8) Impacts on access to economic resources.
(9) Impacts on access to banking and financial technology
tools.
(10) Impacts on homelessness and housing stability.
(11) Impacts on mental health.
(12) Impacts on vulnerability to the transmission of HIV
and other sexually transmitted infections.
(13) Changes in participation in other criminalized
behavior.
(14) Disparities in the effects described in paragraphs (1)
through (13) on key populations typically underserved by
service providers, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, people
living in rural areas, racial and ethnic minorities, Tribal
communities, people experiencing exploitation and trafficking,
and undocumented and documented foreign nationals.
(15) Any other impacts on people engaged in transactional
sex, as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the
results of the study under subsection (a) and make such report
available to the public.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON IMPACTS ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING AS A RESULT OF THE LOSS
OF CERTAIN ONLINE RESOURCES.
(a) Report.--The Attorney General shall report on the impacts on
human trafficking investigations and prosecutions resulting from the
loss of access to interactive computer services (as defined in section
230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f))) in
connection with the closure of websites (including Backpage.com) that
host information related to consensual sexual exchange, on or after
February 27, 2018, in anticipation of, or in response to, the enactment
of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of
2017 (Public Law 115-164).
(b) Interviews and Surveys.--The report under subsection (a) shall
include interviews with nonprofit and community-based organizations
that provide direct services to survivors of human trafficking or
people engaged in transactional sex.
(c) Topics.--The report under subsection (a) shall include an
assessment of the following impacts of the closure of Backpage.com and
other seized websites, the preemptive closure of other websites
associated with commercial and noncommercial sex, the changes to civil
liability for websites, and moderation or other operational changes in
relation to the changes in liability pursuant to the Allow States and
Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-
164) (or any amendments made by such Act):
(1) Impact on access to online communication technologies,
including social media services.
(2) Impact on investigations into trafficking in persons.
(3) Impact on prosecution of individuals under section
1591(a) of title 18, United States Code.
(4) Impact on the ability of law enforcement agencies to
find and prosecute individuals who violate section 1591(a) of
title 18, United States Code.
(5) Impact of changes made by the Allow States and Victims
to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (Public Law)
(commonly known as ``SESTA/FOSTA'') to section 230 of the
Communications Decency Act on State law enforcement agencies
and victims of human trafficking seeking civil redress against
websites engaged in trafficking of children in violation of
section 1591(a) of title 18, United States Code.
(6) Impact on other policies of the Department of Justice
with respect to the prosecution of websites under section 1591
or 2421A of title 18, United States Code.
(7) Disparities in the impacts described in paragraphs (1)
through (6) on key populations typically underserved by service
providers, specifically LGBTQIA+ individuals, people living in
rural areas, racial and ethnic minorities, Tribal communities,
people experiencing exploitation and trafficking, and
undocumented and documented foreign nationals.
(8) Any other impacts on people engaged in transactional
sex, as determined appropriate by the Attorney General.
(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress the report
required under subsection (a) and make such report available to the
public.
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