Congress Censors the Internet, Puts Child Sex Trafficking Victims in More Danger, and Threatens to Destroy Platforms Like Voat ( pizzagate )

submitted by Honeybee_

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"When the Department of Justice is the group urging Congress not to expand criminal law and Congress does it anyway, something is very wrong. " - How the Congress Censored the Internet

The new "Monster Hybrid" FOSTA-SESTA package, was passed 97-2 in the Senate today. The bill is a confusing mishmash of a bill, an act, some major overreach, and the facade of being a solution to #endhumantrafficking. After the Backpage.com scandal and child exploitation showing up on platforms such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook, how can one be against legislation that thwarts sex trafficking and protects children??? Well, that's exactly what they are counting on, our ignorance and small, independent platforms being crippled by the fear of commiting a federal crime.

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The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 ( SESTA ), the amended Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act of 1996 ( CDA ) just passed today, and the House Judiciary's version, Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act ( FOSTA ) passed this past February, and both have been wrapped up in a pretty little package and is on its way to Trump's desk to potentially be signed into law within the next few months.

Not many in the truth movement have picked up what this actually means. It will have a debilitating effect on free speech because the fear to not censor will put in jeopardy the very research we do every single day to expose and spread awareness about child sex trafficking by the very nature of the subject matter. Nevermind putting the very same exploited children and victims it aims to protect into even more danger by putting them back on the streets and further underground.

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If this bill becomes law, not only will it completely change how platforms deal with controversial content, it will increase censorship by magnitudes that we have never seen before. Platforms will be forced to overly censor to ensure, either through human moderation or algorithms, that any content that promotes, aids, references, or has the appearance of sex trafficking or prostitution be completely blocked or deleted. This also means that platforms will stop moderating all together to avoid being held responsible, but the new bill is broadly worded with no definitions or protocol, so its hard to decipher terms like "facilitate" or "knowingly" in regards to how an internet platform becomes an accomplice.

The most concerning to me is that the Internet Association , a large consortium of the mega providers and platforms on the internet, are all strongly in favor of this bill. That raised some red flags. So, who makes up the Internet Association you might ask?

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That's right, Google (Youtube, Hangouts, Gmail, etc.) Facebook, Twitter and suprisingly Reddit, all are pushing for this to be signed into law. This means that their competitors Steemit, Voat, Dtube, Bitchute and Gab will all suffer under the financial ramifications of breaking federal law and be open to civil and state lawsuits if victims claim they didn't intervene. They will now be held accountable and liable for users content, so they will be forced to censor anything that falls under FOSTA/SESTA.

Heres what to expect:

  • Expand existing federal criminal sex trafficking law to target online platforms where sex trafficking content appears. Platform owners could be prosecuted under the expanded law even if they didn’t know that people were using those platforms for sex trafficking purposes.

  • Open online platforms to new criminal and civil liability for sex trafficking at both the federal and state levels.

  • Expand federal criminal prostitution law to cover those who use the Internet to “promote or facilitate prostitution.” Many platforms would feel pressured to become more restrictive in their treatment of sexual speech.

  • Change the law retroactively: an online platform could be prosecuted under state law or held civilly liable for sex trafficking for failing to comply with the law before it passed.

  • Sex work will now be a federal crime.

  • Victims will be pushed back on the streets where law enforcement can't run covert online stings and aprehend sex traffickers

What can we do? We can still call our congressmen or senators, but we can also petition the White House to not sign FOSTA-SESTA into law.

huhWHAThuh

Keep the Govt outta free speech. After a law gets passed we all know that judges rule that black means white, and up means down, and hot means cold, and left means right. Even a carefully worded bill with good intentions is highly dangerous. Does everybody remember how much the Patriot Act is protecting our rights and freedoms now?

truthdemon

I am reading through the comments...and not one mr-and-mrs know it alls do not understand the concept of a bill..and its connection yo the debt currency system...which we feed ever single day we use bills as subsitution for payments..and which is the cause and inly cause for the criminality u see being revealed..

The sky is falling ...the sky is falling..lmao..

All it takes is one dollar at the US treasury and u get to bill ur politicians...and beuraucrats for deriliction of duty at any instant

..for that u have to understand the meaning of the word bill and the word constitutor...

Lmho😂😂

Truthseeker3000

Honeybee the best way to get through to the Trump org is through Don Jr. remember he has 5 young kids and is very much on our side. Try Instagram he answers and responds. Ivanka is a lost cause, same with Eric.

Honeybee_

All tinypic urls now, thanks

sunajAeon

This is just unbelievable-our people MUST find a way to remove this EVIL in DC, how could anyone with a shred of decency come up with this legislation

BKAtheManScout

If I have learned anything in my 24 years, it's that the prohibition of profitable business drives the business underground and makes it more profitable.

Supply-and-demand.

The demand will not go away without a cultural shift of epic proportions. The supply will then be more valuable, more exclusive, and therefore more profitable for those who already have a client base that's chomping at the bit for the "services."

Not arguing to legalize prostitution, really. There are some really great arguments both for and against. But I don't think a prohibition is a smart move before taking down major players in the industry and showing the remaining entities that you're dead-serious about law and order.

letsdothis1

But Trump will stop it, right?

Hypercyberpastelgoth

The NWO ZOG world governments are out of hand and out of control.

Hypercyberpastelgoth

Then hang the real pedophiles and hang all politicians. What are we waiting for? Really?

ESOTERICshade

related

Facebook got your attention well youtube just ban gun demo videos!

http://www.investmentwatchblog.com/facebook-got-your-attention-well-youtube-just-ban-gun-demo-videos/

ESOTERICshade

related

The CLOUD Act would let cops get our data directly from big tech companies like Facebook without needing a warrant. Congress just snuck it into the must-pass omnibus package.

https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/867jo1/the_cloud_act_would_let_cops_get_our_data/

EffYouJohnPodesta

@ESOTERICshade , is this related to the above bill any way or is it tied to it in any way?

septimasexta

We need a TECHNOLOGY USER'S UNION. We can organize flash user's strikes. IF WE DON'T USE THEIR PRODUCT, THEY DON'T MAKE MONEY. You must ALWAYS have a warrant, to follow the Constitution. Remember AMERICAN TAXPAYERS OWN THE BACKBONE OF THE INTERNET. Any monopoly companies practicing censorship will be KICKED OFF. It's time for a new era of COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

Vindicator

This is an interesting idea.

septimasexta

"Today, the digital traces we leave behind allow machines to treat all of our online activity as a 'test.' Our Facebook Likes, the words we use in tweets and emails and the images we upload all provide 'items' from which the machine can learn who we are, what drives and motivates us and how we differ from each other. Psychometrics is at the forefront of developments in ambient intelligence and the Internet of Things, powering connected environments that are sensitive and responsive to our needs."

These developments have huge implications for the future of many sectors, including marketing, recruitment, insurance, finance, education, health and the law. Many organisations are struggling to adapt to the world of Big Data, let alone show leadership, with massive increases in the quantity and quality of unstructured information and the emergence of more agile competitors threatening established practices. For the most part, the significant advances in research in ambient intelligence are not being made in universities, but rather in the major online corporations, such as Google or Facebook. The Psychometrics Centre will bridge this divide, bringing impact, public engagement and, most pointedly, 'development' back into the universities’ R&D agenda." https://www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk/news/Move_to_JBS

darkknight111

If my deduction is correct, then there's an even darker implication to this bill:

False flags.....targeting groups like US.

How: Via shills planting CP and other material on our forums, then flagging us so WE get arrested.

How we can fight back: Get the mods together to discuss options, for I have a proposal.

Under the doctrine of "Shoot them before they shoot us", ban every single alt of known shills like AreWeSure, Donkeyhote. We need to eliminate them before they can take advantage of this bill to get us shut down via a false flag.

Also pressure PuttItOut to purge known pedo subverses (and IP ban their members) as a protective measure to proactively take them out so they dont take advantage of this bill to FF us.

think-

Under the doctrine of "Shoot them before they shoot us", ban every single alt of known shills like AreWeSure, Donkeyhote. We need to eliminate them before they can take advantage of this bill to get us shut down via a false flag.

I'm afraid this won't work - we've already discussed this before - we can't ban via IP, and they would just create new alts (like Donkey has done). Also, we have many sleeper accounts by shills who harvested some CCP so that they can post any time now.

But I agree, the implications of this new law should be discussed with Putt.

@Vindicator @kevdude @Crensch @PeaceSeeker @heygeorge

BIGLY17

I agree with your proposal but it’s a slippery slope when it comes to bans/censorship; this is very similar in nature to the first initial pizzagate discussions; whereby Reddit/ATS/etc. took a ‘stance’ against this particular story, then expanded to take on particular members, then eventually entire boards/forums/subs.

I think all points you’ve made are more than valid I just think more “censorship” (even if you are just purging trolls/shills) does not answer the overarching issue. These types of accounts/users will always find a means; regardless of how many hurdles you throw at them. Freedom of speech has become a constant evolution with moving goal-posts and I just don’t think this should be the case, ever. Shame/sad it has even gotten to this point.

eucalyptus_spearmint

I agree. Nobody hates that Donkey guy more than me. But as far as I know he never broke any rules. He was just a hateful asshole. But that isn't illegal. And all are_we_sure__ does is express unpopular opinions in a calm, reasonable manner. If we can't handle a little difference of opinion, we should remember what America stands for in the first place.

Vindicator

Donkey made several submissions that broke the rules, which we banned his alts for, as did AWS -- hence the fact he is on his 6th or seventh username. They can't back up a lot of their shit talk with linked sources, so they hide out in Comments sniping at genuine contributors, where they can say whatever they want without having to bow to the submission rules.

septimasexta

Looks like the NWO has unleashed the HOUNDS OF CENSORSHIP! Let's add STRAW MAN Alex Jones into the mix:

"Brennan Gilmore, a foreign service officer at the State Department, alleges that Jones, his website and several of its contributors made “false and defamatory” statements by claiming he had an “ax to grind” in recording the event.

The lawsuit, filed by Georgetown University law school's civil rights clinic on behalf of Gilmore in Virginia district court, alleges the defendants “caused irreparable damage” to Gilmore’s reputation “and threatened his physical and emotional well-being.” The group seeks compensation and punitive damages from Jones and other defendants."

"InfoWars, a right-wing news site known for peddling unsubstantiated conspiracies, cited Gilmore’s ties to the federal government to allege the existence of a coordinated effort to "orchestrate" the clashes and undermine the President Donald Trump, who faced backlash for his response to the event." https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/13/alex-jones-sued-charlottesville-claims-459244 Jones needs to get the phone # for the NATIONAL ENQUIRER"s lawyers. THEY ALWAYS WIN.

WHY WOULD TRUMP SIGN THE FOSTA/SESTA?

sunajAeon

I watched a short video of AJ last week and I was surprised watching his body movements with sound off-his "language" with his body says something different from his words, its all about inciting and enraging his audience to anger and perhaps violence-can't get over how overt and subliminal this "performance" was, strikes me as being a very trained technique

cutelobster

Yes, as @TrishaUK has it, the sonofnewo videos forensically discredit Gilmore, who is without a doubt some kind of Deep State agent. Gilmore turns out to be an experienced meme warrior as he is also connected with another viral video/hoax - the one associated with KONY 2012. The two events are, somewhat unexpectedly, linked with one apparently providing a model for the other. There's an interesting article about it the Charlottesville/Kony connection. here . After his slam-dunk exposure of Gilmore, Sonofnewo has come under attack by a series of alt-right figures including Jason Kessler and Mike Enoch (also Deep State agents). These figures are interested in promoting a false far-right version of the Charlottesville events based on the idea that Fields drove his care into the left-wing protestors because Antifa thugs made him panic. My guess is that Gilmore will succeed in his school-play lawsuit with the deep-state agents of Infowars and will thereafter claim to have been 'exonerated'.

TrishaUK

Wow so you believe Brennan Gilmore is truthful? he has changed his story a few times about what he witnessed at Charllotsville the day Heather Hayer died? You need to do some research, start with sonofnewo! https://www.youtube.com/user/SonofNewo - then you can maybe come back and re-write your comment when you know the full story? - I have watched ALL of the video evidence/proof that sonofnewo has painstakingly spent hours producing for us to know the truth AND many other peoples videos, in my mind it is undeniable this was orchestrated and not organic. Not that this Charllotsville has anything to do with this pizzagate....

carmencita

Wow they are almost at their 30K Goal!!! Sign Petition

SkinnyManAss

"Sexwork" is illegal in the US everywhere except greater Nevada

SkinnyManAss

Senator Ted Cruz threatened YouTube with liability under the CDA if they did not stop targeting conservatives. Liability for hosting CP is a good thing. Please prove that anything in the proposed law is censorship of non obscene non illegal content. Because I'm not seeing where you demonstrate your case.

eucalyptus_spearmint

I clicked the links in honey bee's post to read their arguments. I can buy the one about censorship, not so much the one about hurting victims of human trafficking. It seems to be saying that because investigators use the internet to search for it, this bill would make it harder for them to work. I have very mixed feelings on that. The internet is what has helped spread child pornography and pedophilia in the first place in my opinion. I have to believe that it's part of the reason that it has exploded. The internet is like pandora's box. But there's no putting it all back in the box and something ought to be done to make it more difficult for the sickos. The market for children is out there now. Ugh. I hate this sick world. Jesus come back please.

SkinnyManAss

When you become a mod on Voat you still should have to defend your positions. I fail to see where she argues for how it iz censorship against journalists.

eucalyptus_spearmint

Who/What are you talking about? I hate when people reply to my comment but their reply has nothing to do with my comment. 😌

Vindicator

Crosspost the link to this thread on v/Whatever . Everyone on Voat should read and consider signing the petition.

ESOTERICshade

Redditt conspiracy thread on the subject

EFF on twitter: "Today is a dark day for the Internet. Congress just passed the Internet censorship bill SESTA/FOSTA." Within hours of the bill passing, reddit moved to censor 100s of communities. The Pandora's Box has been opened, and the modern internet now faces its toughest test to date.

Earlier today, reddit moved to censor 100s of communities related to "transactions for certain goods and services" from the platform, as the SESTA/FOSTA bill passed today means that reddit can be held liable for content posted by its users.

As the EFF notes, the groups behind this draconian censorship see this only as a first step;

Some of these groups behind #SESTA / #FOSTA seem to see the bill as a mere stepping stone to banning pornography from the Internet.- https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170929/01242638309/campaigners-sesta-see-it-as-first-step-to-stomping-out-porn.shtml

As a result of the bills which passed today, and the subsequent response by sites such as reddit, today could do down as the beginning of the end for the free and open internet.

Absent judicial intervention to overturn the laws in question, we may be on the verge of a brave new internet; an internet vastly different than the open and free platform which has defined online life for nearly 20 years.

https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/865lax/eff_on_twitter_today_is_a_dark_day_for_the/

sunajAeon

Does anyone know who actually wrote this "dictionary" of the bill, which I am sure the Traitors in Congress never even read?

SkinnyManAss

Are we complaining about banning porn now?

ESOTERICshade

Are we complaining about banning porn now?

No. This legislation is probably just an excuse to further squelch free speech on the internet under the guise of protecting children.

SkinnyManAss

I fail to see how.

TrishaUK

SkinnyManAss, since you are only 23 days old, guess you have a lot of catching up to do. haha we know an anti-voater when we see one, even if you think your comment is masked they are not! ESOTERICshade I suspect SkinnyManAss is another name to add to Donkeybutthole...AreWeSure etc., just a check of his profile shows he has many downvotes on his few comments already lol -

EffYouJohnPodesta

SkinnyManAss is my phone alt. I'll be making a new one. I still disagree with all of you about this bill, until you prove your case. I'm far from a shill, but I am starting to think that most of you on Voat are actually the shills, who have no clue what you are talking about at all. Seems like lately people don't use their brains. If you're going to be against a logical, sensible bill, post the portion of the legislation you think will be harmful instead of expecting people to blindly follow you like sheep.

ESOTERICshade

Thanx for the post.

SkinnyManAss

Um, what part of this is supposedly bad

RageAgainstTheAmish

2/28/2018

Kill yourself kike

SkinnyManAss

Btw, this is my phone account on my new phone. And I'm a Christian not a jew. Your profile reads like a reprobate.

RageAgainstTheAmish

Fuck you I'm not about to argue with some Jesuit piece of shit

And to act like you need a new account with a new phone is fucking stupid dude.

Go back to Reddit and suck more Jewish dick

SkinnyManAss

No it isn't stupid. I never used to log in on the phone. And I have been here a long time.

SkinnyManAss

You first

RageAgainstTheAmish

I'm not the one trying to undermine my host website you filthy rat

SkinnyManAss

I don't undermine host websites.