Section 230: Sex Workers, Advocates Warn Against Sen. Warner's SAFE TECH Bill

Section 230: Sex Workers, Advocates Warn Against Sen. Warner's SAFE TECH Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Adult performers and other sex workers are warning against a new legislative attempt to expand on the harms to the community effected by FOSTA-SESTA by further eroding Section 230 protections.

In a piece published today by Vice’s Motherboard vertical, sex worker groups spoke out against the Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism, and Consumer Harms Act — or SAFE TECH Act.

The bill was re-introduced to the Senate in February by Democratic Senator Mark Warner (Virginia) and co-sponsored by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn).

“Supporters of the SAFE TECH Act want to further limit the scope of Section 230, making companies responsible for policing user speech on online platforms,” explains Vice’s Lauren Crosby Medlicott in the article, quoting a March interview with Warner when he was promoting the bill.

“What I don't want is to have these giant providers continue to use Section 230 as this immunity, a kind of ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card,” Warner said.

However, Medlicott continues, “sex workers and free speech advocates warn that eliminating these liability protections means greater censorship of online platforms as companies try to reduce the risk of landing in legal trouble as a result of third-party user content.”

A Bill That Would 'Inevitably Harm' Marginalized Groups

"The SAFE TECH Act would mean I can’t afford to run my own website and will lose income from many other sites," said performer and activist Mary Moody. "It will impact any social media platforms I use for marketing.”

Other voices in the sex work community also spoke to Vice about their concerns.

Jason Kelley, a digital strategist at digital rights advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), explained that Section 230 “underpins much of the internet, offering legal protections for companies, news organizations, creators of all stripes, political activists, nonprofits, libraries, educators, governments and regular users.”

”Without it, any online service that did continue to exist would more than likely opt for censoring more user-generated content — and that would inevitably harm marginalized groups more than others,” Kelley added.

Sex workers, Medlicott wrote, “would be one of those marginalized groups affected by SAFE TECH, and many fear that their work and safety will be compromised if the bill passes.”

SAFE TECH's Downstream Effect

Blair Hopkins, deputy director of sex worker advocacy group SWOP Behind Bars, told Vice she’s  dreading the “inevitable” Section 230 reform.

“Section 230 protects sex workers in a kind of ancillary way because it allows them to conduct their business on platforms without interruption from the platforms,” she added, expressing concern that SAFE TECH will have “a downstream effect of unintended consequences.” 

According to Medlicott, “while FOSTA was touted as a way to curb human trafficking by creating liability for platforms that facilitated trafficking, it simply didn’t work. In fact, the increased vulnerabilities of sex workers resulting from FOSTA, combined with the new difficulties police had tracking traffickers, actually meant that FOSTA increased cases of human trafficking."

To read “Sex Workers Explain Why the SAFE TECH Act Will Break the Internet,” visit Vice.com.

Main Image: Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.).

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

Pineapple Support, Streamate to Host 'Navigating Grief and Loss' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Streamate are hosting a free online support group to help performers cope with grief and loss.

Friday is Final AV Compliance Deadline in UK

Friday, July 25 marks U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s deadline for user-to-user services such as tube, cam and fan sites to implement its requisite “highly effective age assurance” measures for preventing minors from viewing adult content.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches for May, June

AEBN has released the top search terms for the months of May and June from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Two Texas Bills Restricting Sex Toy Sales Fail to Pass

Two bills aimed at restricting sales of sex toys have failed to pass the Texas state legislature during its 2025 session.

NYC Adult Stores Petition for Rehearing in Zoning Law Case

A group of adult businesses on Tuesday petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to rehear a case involving a zoning law that could severely limit adult stores’ operations in New York City.

Ofcom Releases Transparency Reporting Guidelines

Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator, has made public its official guidance detailing how online service providers — including adult sites — will be required to publish annual transparency reports on their efforts to protect children from online harms.

New AV Rules Take Effect for Ireland-Based Sites

Ireland’s Online Safety Code came into force Monday, including a provision requiring adult sites headquartered in Ireland to implement age assurance measures beyond self-declaration.

XBIZ Amsterdam Calls on New Startups for 'Spotlight' Program

XBIZ is pleased to announce that its new “Startup Spotlight” programming will make its European premiere at XBIZ Amsterdam 2025, set to take place Sept. 2-5 at the Jakarta Hotel Amsterdam.

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Show More