Woodhull Heads to Court of Appeals to Block FOSTA/SESTA

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Sex workers nationwide (and possibly worldwide) have suffered at the hands of the U.S. government's attempts to "help" them by making it more difficult for them to advertise for and screen clients online, and Woodhull Freedom Foundation is one of five plaintiffs headed to court today, September 20, to sue the government to block enforcement of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and ask a federal appeals court to reverse a judge’s decision to dismiss the case. FOSTA is a federal law passed in 2017 that expansively criminalizes online speech related to sex work and removes important protections for online intermediaries. Woodhull is joined by the Internet Archive, Human Rights Watch, and individuals Alex Andrews and Eric Koszyk to contend that FOSTA violates everyone's First Amendment rights. President/CEO of Woodhull Freedom Foundation Ricci Levy released the following statement: “As the only national human rights organization working full-time to affirm and protect sexual freedom as a fundamental human right, 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. And that’s why we will be standing before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Friday morning, asking to block the enforcement of FOSTA and to allow the legal case to continue.” Woodhull, along with the other plaintiffs, are represented by Bob Corn-Revere and Ronald London, of Davis Wright Tremaine, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Daphne Keller, and Lawrence G. Walters, of Walters Law Group. The brief in support of today's appeals court action may be found here. For more on Woodhull Freedom Foundation’s lawsuit against FOSTA, click here. Woodhull Freedom Foundation is the only national human rights organization that works full-time to affirm and protect sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.