Appeals court seems poised to void part of sex trafficking law – By Josh Gerstein (Politico) / Jan 11, 2023
The D.C. judges expressed skepticism about the constitutionality of language in a law that makes it a crime to operate a computer service with the intent to promote prostitution.
A federal appeals court panel appears likely to strike down part of a law Congress overwhelmingly passed in 2018 to crack down on online advertising websites such as Backpage that were viewed as facilitating prostitution.
During arguments on Wednesday in a lawsuit brought by advocates for legalizing prostitution, a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel expressed deep skepticism about the constitutionality of language in the anti-sex trafficking law that makes it a crime to operate a computer service with the intent to promote prostitution.
Two of the three judges on the panel, Patricia Millett and Harry Edwards, seemed inclined to rule that aspects of the statute known as the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or FOSTA-SESTA, violate the First Amendment because it appears to criminalize efforts to legalize prostitution.
Millett and Edwards repeatedly tangled with a Justice Department attorney defending the law, Joseph Busa.
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