Dear Supporter of Digital Freedom,
We all rely on online communities to work, socialize, and
learn. From the largest social media sites to the smallest
message board, online platforms are central to our right to
assemble and speak out. FOSTA would put us at risk of being
shut out of those spaces.
This dangerous bill has already passed the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Senate is expected to vote on it
any day. We urge you take a moment to call your Senators and
tell them not to censor the Internet.
From its name, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online
Sex Trafficking Act might sound noble, but it would do
nothing to stop sex traffickers. What it would do is force
online platforms to police their users' speech more
forcefully than ever before, silencing legitimate voices in
the process.
How would one bill do so much damage to communities online?
Simple: it would scare online platforms into censoring their
users. With the risk of increased liability, platforms would
have little choice but to err on the side of censorship.
EFF has been opposed to a similar bill called the Stop
Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA). Lawmakers have now
combined the worst elements of SESTA and FOSTA into a
monster of a bill that would be a disaster for Internet
intermediaries, marginalized communities, and even
trafficking victims themselves.
If you don't want Congress to ruin the online communities we
all rely on, please take a moment to call your senators and
urge them to oppose FOSTA.
Take action now:
https://www.eff.org/stopsesta/
Thank you,
Elliot Harmon
Activism Team
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Support our work to defend free speech and innovation:
https://supporters.eff.org/donate/support-our-work-defend-free-speech-and-innovation
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