I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION H. R. 10456 
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 
and the loss of interactive computer services that host information related 
to sexual exchange, to direct the Attorney General to submit a report 
on human trafficking investigations and prosecutions in connection with 
the same, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 17, 2024 
Mr. KHANNA (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. POCAN, Ms. TLAIB, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
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 and the loss of interactive computer services that 
host information related to sexual exchange, to direct 
the Attorney General to submit a report on human traf-
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ficking investigations and prosecutions in connection with 
the same, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SESTA/FOSTA Ex-
amination of Secondary Effects for Sex Workers Study 
Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE SEX Workers Study Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) People who engage in consensual, trans-
actional sex utilize online platforms to protect their 
health, safety, and independence. This use includes 
building community connections, distribution of 
harm reduction information and techniques, identi-
fication and screening of potential clients, sale of 
media and remote services and negotiating the terms 
of consensual, transactional sex services, including 
condom use and other harm reduction strategies. 
(2) Widespread discrimination against popu-
lations, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, particu-
larly transgender women of color, prevents many 
from accessing formal employment resources, tradi-
tional financial services, and educational opportuni-
ties. 
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(3) In the 2015 United States Transgender 
Survey conducted by the National Center for 
Transgender Equality, 19 percent of respondents re-
ported having exchanged sex for resources, such as 
for money, food, or a place to sleep. Transgender 
women of color, including Black (42 percent), Amer-
ican Indian (28 percent), multiracial (27 percent), 
Latina (23 percent), and Asian (22 percent) re-
spondents were more likely to have participated in 
sex work than the overall sample. 
(4) In the 2015 United States Transgender 
Survey, respondents who experienced homelessness 
in the past year (17 percent) were more than 3 
times as likely to have participated in sex work dur-
ing that year compared to the overall sample. 
(5) On a broader scale, internet platforms fos-
ter connections between people and play an integral 
part in American society. Access to digital platforms 
has been essential for activists, distribution of harm 
reduction information and reproductive and sexual 
health information, and fostering connections be-
tween people who face geographic barriers. Meaning-
ful regulation of internet platforms must take into 
account the role they play in the health, safety, and 
privacy of all people’s lives. 
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(6) While policymakers, representatives of inter-
net platforms, and some advocates have discussed 
ways to mitigate the use of internet platforms to de-
crease exploitation, people who consensually trade 
sex are rarely involved in the drafting of legislation 
or policies, or in assessing their impact, despite 
being amongst the populations who are impacted by 
legislation and policies related to the regulation of 
these internet platforms. 
(7) On February 27, 2018, the House of Rep-
resentatives passed the Allow States and Victims to 
Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (com-
monly known as ‘‘SESTA/FOSTA’’). While SESTA/ 
FOSTA holds websites liable for user-generated con-
tent that facilitates sex trafficking, it also impacts 
online platforms where users discuss consensual sex 
work and related topics. 
(8) Contemporaneously with the passage of 
SESTA/FOSTA in the Senate on March 21, 2018, 
websites preemptively shut down, some directly cit-
ing the law’s passage as the rationale for closure. 
(9) One week before President Donald Trump 
signed SESTA/FOSTA into law, the Department of 
Justice seized Backpage.com and arrested Backpage 
employees, citing promotion of prostitution and 
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