Definition and legal treatment
In a 2022 episode of The Bob Zadek Show, guest Cathy Reisenwitz defined sex trafficking as coercion into sex work, generally involving movement across countries or states, where the person does not consent. She stated that in the United States, government at the state or federal level in most cases does not differentiate between adult consensual sex work and sex trafficking, so that any instance of sex work in the eyes of the law can be considered sex trafficking. “I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help” - Cathy Reisenwitz (2022)
Reisenwitz said that when she examined news reporting on sex trafficking arrests and stings, in every case she found either adult consenting sex workers labeled as trafficking victims, or cases where coercion occurred due to domestic violence—a partner forcing someone into sex work—and/or immigration status, where someone with a shaky status is coerced into sex work they would not otherwise do. The War on Sex (2022)
Host Bob Zadek characterized the legal treatment as creating an irreversible presumption that a human being cannot consent to offer sex for money, which he said amounts to a sexist statement that women lack the emotional or intellectual capacity to consent. He described this as built-in bias, ignorance, and superstition driving the statute. “I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help” - Cathy Reisenwitz (2022)
FOSTA-SESTA and its consequences
Zadek introduced FOSTA as an acronym for the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, calling the title misleading. He also noted that SESTA stands for the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which transfers liability onto otherwise neutral and immune platforms. The War on Sex (2022)
Reisenwitz explained that evangelical organizations with evangelical roots and funding sought to end all commercial sex, including online pornography, and ginned up a moral panic about sex trafficking. She said they created tip lines where unconfirmed cases could be reported, and that Cindy McCain reported an interracial family as an instance of sex trafficking because they were in an airport and were interracial. Reisenwitz said these organizations put out press releases and documentaries claiming millions of people in Texas alone are trafficking victims, based on data she called worse than worthless, while best estimates indicate sex trafficking in the United States is very rare. “I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help” - Cathy Reisenwitz (2022)
According to Reisenwitz, the legislation made online platforms liable for any sex trafficking that might happen on those platforms. She said platforms do not have the time and energy to ensure every instance of sexual material is fully consensual, so they booted all sexual content. In the wake of SESTA-FOSTA, which passed in 2018, Google started removing— The War on Sex (2022)
Reisenwitz stated that platforms began booting all sexual content, causing people to lose private Google Drive files and sex educators’ materials to be taken offline. Most importantly, she said, sex workers lost places to advertise and to exchange safety information and “bad date lists,” meaning they could not screen clients before seeing them or negotiate over the internet, forcing them to find clients and negotiate in person, which she said is far more dangerous. “I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help” - Cathy Reisenwitz (2022)
She said rates of sex workers being murdered and taking their own lives rose significantly after passage, nearly all sex workers saw incomes and quality of life decline, and sex work became more dangerous. Before passage, law enforcement told Congress it would make finding trafficking victims more difficult because they worked with platforms that sent tips. After passage, by all indications, sex trafficking rose and law enforcement had a harder time. She said the legislation was unnecessary because platforms were already compliant and the federal government was already not acting on information, and that it curtailed free speech rights, limited competitors, and led to the deaths of sex workers. The War on Sex (2022)
Zadek summarized that a non-problem was fixed with a statute that was a major problem, making life more dangerous for sex workers who only want voluntary, mutually beneficial, uncoerced exchange of consenting adults. “I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help” - Cathy Reisenwitz (2022)
Across episodes
The two episodes—the 2022-10-02 episode with Cathy Reisenwitz and the 2022-10-04 episode “The War on Sex”—present the same guest and the same arguments on sex trafficking, FOSTA-SESTA, and their consequences. The excerpts show no development or change between the earlier and later treatment; the later episode repeats the definition, the moral panic narrative, and the platform liability consequences in nearly identical terms.
What the sources do not cover
The excerpts do not state the state in which any city is located, the name of any bill beyond FOSTA and SESTA, what any case held or which amendment it turned on, or the title or field of any person mentioned. The excerpts also do not cover the ending of Reisenwitz’s sentence about Google removing content, which breaks off mid-sentence. No founding dates or principles of any organization are given beyond the description of evangelical roots and funding.