I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5448 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study 

to assess the unintended impacts on the health and safety of people 

engaged in transactional sex, in connection with the enactment of the 

Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 

(Public Law 115–164) and the loss of interactive computer services 

that host information related to sexual exchange, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Mr. KHANNA (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

conduct a study to assess the unintended impacts on 

the health and safety of people engaged in transactional 

sex, in connection with the enactment of the Allow States 

and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 

2017 (Public Law 115–164) and the loss of interactive 

computer services that host information related to sexual 

exchange, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SESTA/FOSTA Ex3 amination of Secondary Effects for Sex Workers Study 

4 Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE SEX Workers Study Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 The Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) People who engage in consensual, trans8 actional sex utilize online platforms to protect their 

9 health, safety, and independence. This use includes 

10 building community connections, distribution of 

11 harm reduction information and techniques, identi12 fication and screening of potential clients, and nego13 tiating the terms of consensual, transactional sex 

14 services, including condom use and other harm re15 duction strategies. 

16 (2) Widespread discrimination against popu17 lations, including LGBTQI+ individuals, particu18 larly transgender women of color, prevents many 

19 from accessing formal employment resources and 

20 educational opportunities. 

21 (3) In the 2015 United States Transgender 

22 Survey conducted by the National Center for 

23 Transgender Equality, 19 percent of respondents re24 ported having exchanged sex for resources, such as 

25 for money, food, or a place to sleep. Transgender 

26 women of color, including Black (42 percent), AmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5448.IH H5448

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1 ican Indian (28 percent), multiracial (27 percent), 

2 Latina (23 percent), and Asian (22 percent) re3 spondents were more likely to have participated in 

4 sex work than the overall sample. 

5 (4) In the 2015 United States Transgender 

6 Survey, respondents who experienced homelessness 

7 in the past year (17 percent) were more than three 

8 times as likely to have participated in sex work dur9 ing that year compared to the overall sample. 

10 (5) On a broader scale, internet platforms fos11 ter connections between people and play an integral 

12 part in American society. Meaningful regulation of 

13 internet platforms must take into account the role 

14 they play in the health, safety, and privacy of all 

15 people’s lives. 

16 (6) While policymakers, representatives of inter17 net platforms, and some advocates have discussed 

18 ways to mitigate the use of internet platforms to de19 crease exploitation, people who consensually trade 

20 sex are rarely involved in the drafting of legislation 

21 or policies, or in assessing their impact, despite 

22 being amongst the populations who are impacted by 

23 legislation and policies related to the regulation of 

24 these internet platforms. 


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1 (7) On February 27, 2018, the House of Rep2 resentatives passed the Allow States to Fight Online 

3 Sex Trafficking Act, known as SESTA/FOSTA. 

4 While SESTA/FOSTA holds websites liable for user5 generated content that facilitates sex trafficking, it 

6 also impacts online platforms where users discuss 

7 consensual sex work and related topics. 

8 (8) Contemporaneously with the passage of 

9 SESTA/FOSTA in the Senate on March 21, 2018, 

10 websites preemptively shut down, some directly cit11 ing the law’s passage as the rationale for closure. 

12 (9) One week before President Donald Trump 

13 signed SESTA/FOSTA into law (Public Law 115– 

14 164), the Department of Justice seized Back15 page.com and arrested Backpage employees, citing 

16 promotion of prostitution and money laundering 

17 charges, similar to the Department of Homeland Se18 curity’s seizure of Rentboy.com only a few years 

19 prior. 

20 (10) While these websites and individual ac21 counts have been closing down, there has been no 

22 national investigation rigorously examining the im23 pact of losing access to these platforms on the health 

24 and safety of people in consensual, transactional sex 

25 work. Regional and anecdotal information from 


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1 health and safety service providers and sex workers 

2 has pointed to significant impacts on the health and 

3 safety of people who engage in consensual, trans4 actional sex. 

5 (11) Community organizations have reported 

6 increased homelessness of sex workers, including of 

7 sex workers who are caretakers for their families 

8 and have lost the economic stability provided by ac9 cess to online platforms. 

10 (12) Sex workers have reported a reduced abil11 ity to screen potential clients for safety, and nego12 tiate for boundaries such as condom use, resulting in 

13 reports of physical and sexual violence. 

14 (13) Many sex workers have turned to street15 based work, which has historically involved higher 

16 rates of violence than other forms of transactional 

17 sex. Street-based sex workers have frequently noted 

18 practices which harm their health and safety, such 

19 as the confiscation of condoms by police, or use of 

20 condoms as evidence of arrest for prostitution. 

21 (14) With this new level of precarity, isolation, 

22 and vulnerability, there is substantial anecdotal evi23 dence that members of the sex work community are 

24 more frequently being contacted by third parties 

25 seeking to engage in management activities. This inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5448.IH H5448

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1 cludes both sex workers who had always worked 

2 independently, as well as those who have previously 

3 experienced violence and exploitation by a third 

4 party. 

5 (15) The United States Government has long 

6 discussed the importance of assessing collateral con7 sequences when looking at other industries. A com8 prehensive study is essential to evaluate the impact 

9 on the health and safety of those involved in consen10 sual, transactional sex, who are increasingly losing 

11 access to digital platforms, which have been used for 

12 harm reduction information and techniques, and to 

13 screen clients. Informed government policies begin 

14 with seeking out relevant information to better guide 

15 our actions moving forward. 

16 SEC. 3. STUDY ON UNINTENDED IMPACTS ON HEALTH AND 

17 SAFETY OF PEOPLE ENGAGED IN TRANS18 ACTIONAL SEX AS A RESULT OF THE LOSS OF 

19 CERTAIN ONLINE RESOURCES. 

20 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

21 Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

22 in consultation as appropriate with the Director of the 

23 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Director 

24 of the National Institutes of Health, and the Assistant 

25 Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use shall 


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1 study the impacts on the health and safety of people en2 gaged in transactional sex resulting from the loss of access 

3 to interactive computer services (as defined in section 

4 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

5 230(f))) in connection with the closure of websites (includ6 ing Backpage.com) that host information related to con7 sensual sexual exchange, on or after February 27, 2018, 

8 in anticipation of, or in response to, the enactment of the 

9 Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking 

10 Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–164). 

11 (b) INTERVIEWS AND SURVEYS.—The study under 

12 subsection (a) shall include interviews with, and surveys 

13 conducted by, nonprofit and community-based organiza14 tions that provide direct services to people engaged in 

15 transactional sex. 

16 (c) TOPICS.—The study under subsection (a) shall in17 clude assessment of the following impacts on people en18 gaged in transactional sex: 

19 (1) Changes in access to technology-related 

20 harm reduction services. 

21 (2) Changes in ability to negotiate terms with 

22 potential clients. 

23 (3) Changes in experiences of violence from cli24 ents. 


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1 (4) Changes in interactions with law enforce2 ment officials, including changes in police surveil3 lance, stops, and arrests. 

4 (5) Changes in contact from third parties. 

5 (6) Changes in relationship to and reliance on 

6 third parties. 

7 (7) Changes in experiences of exploitation. 

8 (8) Impacts on access to economic resources. 

9 (9) Impacts on homelessness and housing sta10 bility. 

11 (10) Impacts on mental health. 

12 (11) Impacts on vulnerability to the trans13 mission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infec14 tions. 

15 (12) Changes in participation in other 

16 criminalized behavior. 

17 (13) Disparities in these effects on key popu18 lations typically underserved by service providers, 

19 specifically LGBTQI+ individuals, people living in 

20 rural areas, racial and ethnic minorities, Tribal com21 munities, people experiencing exploitation and traf22 ficking, and undocumented and documented foreign 

23 nationals. 


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1 (14) Any other impacts on people engaged in 

2 transactional sex, as determined appropriate by the 

3 Secretary for inclusion in the study. 

4 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

6 the Congress a report on the results of the study under 

7 subsection (a) and make such report available to the pub8 lic. 

Æ 


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