Will FOSTA affect other dating sites, internet companies? Craigslist just shut down personals out of fear that new law puts their business at risk. It seems that the laws that have traditionally protected online publishers from questionable content posted by users has been eroded.
While Craigslist wasn't always the most clean source of dating fun, lots of people have used it and only a small minority seems to have used it for prostitution.....so I'm kinda concerned how this law might affect other online companies.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.What's your thoughts on free speech here? Does the government have the right to make a website responsible for the behavior of their members OFFLINE? For every instance of prostitution faciliated from online dating, there are hundreds of somewhat normal people meeting each other.
Admin
Level 9
Mar 24, 2018
1
When considering things like this, I think it's useful to look at similar situations. A glaring one is hardcopy print media, especially newspapers. Another that might put light on this subject would be actual physical bulletin boards (I know of one in my community outside the entrance of a grocery store). And still another is actual prostitutes on actual streets, otherwise known as a red light district. By the logic of this bill, shouldn't we also hold the owners/operators of the STREET criminally liable for prostitution?
@bingst The scary thing is that the DMCA [en.wikipedia.org] enables websites to let users interact freely without the website having to worry about getting sued. For example, what happens if someone uses this site for some sort of sex deal? We might be liable under FOSTA but have no way to know way to police people who violate terms of service. Should Match and Tinder be turned off too because of legal fear?
So now let's think about this. We all know how there are bots and/or paid trolls infiltrating websites with tons of propaganda. Who is to say if the authorities, enemies of the company, or competition don't send in a few dozen or so people on certain sites to act like prostitutes or traffickers to shut down sites they want to?
Piece2YourPuzzle
Level 8
Mar 24, 2018
1
Good point.
I depend on Craigslist for finding places to live or for people with whom to share apartment costs, so I hope people don't stop using the site.
birdingnut
Level 8
Mar 24, 2018
0
You know when people falsely say that something is a slippery slope? Well in this case I think it's true lol
If I remember correctly from reading about it, only 5 instances on a website have to occur for this enforcement to take effect.
Here's the actual text of the bill:
Piece2YourPuzzle
Level 8
Mar 24, 2018
0
@MarvelAnn It is amazing.
Didn't they have rape and murder victims from Craigs List? Never considered it for anything. Too many scammers.
sassygirl3869
Level 9
Mar 24, 2018
0
I'm kind of bummed about it. Now where am I going to read weird kinky ads?
sewchick57
Level 7
Mar 24, 2018
0
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