LGBTQ Sex-Comics Creators Say FOSTA/SESTA Has Chilling Effect

LOS ANGELES—The supposed anti-“sex trafficking” law known as FOSTA/SESTA, which turned two years old earlier this month, not only appears to have done little to curb online sex trafficking while making life more dangerous for sex workers, but the law has also had the effect of squeezing out online sexual content. The social media site Tumblr, long a haven for creators of digital eroticism, banned adult content in late 2018, Craigslist ditched its adult personal ads section, while Facebook and even the mass-email service MailChimp have been hit with lawsuits under FOSTA/SESTA, claiming that they have facilitated sex trafficking online. According to the LGBTQ news site Them, the FOSTA/SESTA law is now spreading its chilling effect to a new group of content creators — artists who write and draw erotic, LGBTQ comic strips and comic books, many of whom debut their work online. “Since it has become a law, it has not been enforced or used for its stated intent,” Tina Horn, writer of the Image Comics series of the comics series SFSX (Safe Sex), told the site. “But the effect that it has had is a chilling effect on free speech.” But the silencing of LGBTQ comics artists is not always the result of sites forbidding their content for fear of FOSTA lawsuits or prosecution. Financial mechanisms are also subject to FOSTA, potentially cutting off comics creators from their source of income.  “A lot of what makes this stuff difficult is PayPal being very averse to allowing people to use credit cards for erotic content,” writer/artist Jon Cairns told Them. “That ripples out into a lot of different areas. You put up something on a storefront and comb through the terms of service and hope it doesn’t mention something about adult content.” But according to Bryan Knight — whose Velvet Collar comic chronicles the adventures of LGBTQ sex workers — comics are more likely to be targeted for removal if they contain LGBTQ themes, or references to sex work. “The more sexy or homo it is, the more likely it’ll get flagged or removed,” Knight said. “For example, a common vernacular for sex workers is 'escorts.' You can’t post that on Facebook anymore. ... You can’t put hashtags like #sexworkerrights on Instagram.” Knight admits that he and other creators have resorted to self-censorship since the passage of FOSTA/SESTA. “We didn’t want to lose the platforms we had. On Facebook now you can’t post bulges,” he said. “When you’re put in Facebook jail for 30 days or 3 months at a time, people act more carefully.” Artwork By Tula Lotay / Image Comics