Federal Court Hears Woodhull's Appeal Challenging FOSTA

Federal Court Hears Woodhull's Appeal Challenging FOSTA

WASHINGTON — A group led by prestigious free speech and sexual expression organizations suing the U.S. government to block enforcement of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) appeared this morning at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to ask for a reversal of a district court judge’s decision to dismiss their case.

Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the Internet Archive, Human Rights Watch and individuals Alex Andrews and Eric Koszyk are the plaintiffs, or "appellants," questioning the constitutional status of the controversial FOSTA legislation.

The legislation, also known as SESTA-FOSTA, was drafted by religiously motivated Midwestern Republicans and sold to Democratic members of Congress — most famously by SWEL (Sex Worker Exclusionary Liberal) Senator Kamala Harris — as an anti-human trafficking measure.

In fact, since Donald Trump signed it into law in April 2018, FOSTA has had null-to-negative effect in the fight against actual human trafficking in the U.S. It has largely been used by law enforcement to target defunct online classifieds platform Backpage.com, mom-and-pop massage parlors and now, reportedly, Europe-based webmasters of sites where escorts ply their trade.

According to Woodhull Freedom Foundation, FOSTA “expansively criminalizes online speech related to sex work and removes important protections for online intermediaries.”

Lawyers for the appellants argued that FOSTA "broadly changes the ecosystem of internet intermediary liability and prohibits speech unrelated to trafficking" and that they have the standing to challenge FOSTA, despite one of the objections, centered on legal standing, often raised by the government to disqualify critics of overreaching legislation in court, also used in the ongoing "2257" trial.

Attorney Larry Walters stressed to XBIZ that Woodhull and the other appellants were "encouraged by the panel’s insightful questions during Oral Argument, and remain optimistic for a positive result in this appeal."

"Woodhull is committed to fighting FOSTA to the end," Walters added.

“As the only national human rights organization working full-time to affirm and protect sexual freedom as a fundamental human right,” said President/CEO of Woodhull Freedom Foundation Ricci Levy, “we are deeply concerned about the effect of FOSTA on sexual expression and speech. Already, FOSTA has inhibited sexual freedom by forcing websites to shut down, moderate content and censor users. Let’s be clear: sex workers are being harmed, but all of us will feel the reverberation of this legislation.

“This case is about the future of online censorship and sexual expression in this country.”

For more of XBIZ's coverage of the fight against FOSTA, click here.

Woodhull et al. vs. U.S.A. Apellants' Reply Brief (Sept. 2019)

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Florida AG Sues EU-Based Adult Companies for Failing to Age-Verify Users

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Monday with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida against five EU-based adult companies for allegedly failing to require age verification before allowing access to adult content.

SkyPrivate Launches 'Telegram Pay-Per-Minute' Feature

SkyPrivate has launched a new pay-per-minute (PPM) private show option on Telegram.

Pineapple Support to Host 'Money and Mental Health' Online Event

Pineapple Support is hosting a free, online event to help performers balance financial wellbeing with mental health, Aug. 18-19.

Arcom Warns 5 Adult Sites Over Age Verification

French media regulator Arcom has sent enforcement notices to the operators of five adult websites that the agency says have failed to implement age verification as required under France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

MojoHost Launches NVIDIA Blackwell GPU Hosting

MojoHost has launched NVIDIA Blackwell hosting with RTX Pro 6000 MaxQ GPUs.

FSC: Identity Theft Targeting Adult Performers

The Free Speech Coalition has put out an alert warning of an individual found to be targeting adult performers for identity theft.

Assylum.com Implements New Age Verification System

Assylum.com has introduced an age verification system across its member sites.

European Commission to Assess Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX Compliance With Digital Services Act

The European Commission plans to conduct a study to determine how well adult sites Pornhub, XVideos and XNXX are addressing illegal content and other potential harms under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

German Higher Court Upholds Ban on PornHub, YouPorn

The Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate on Thursday upheld a “network ban” on Aylo-owned adult sites Pornhub and YouPorn for failing to comply with German age verification regulations.

Alabama Notifying Adult Sites of New Tax Set to Take Effect Sept. 1

The Alabama Department of Revenue has begun sending notices to adult site operators about a new 10% tax on their revenues, set to be enforced starting Sept. 1.

Show More