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posted by janrinok on Sunday April 15 2018, @11:09AM   Printer-friendly
from the as-long-as-it-is-not-encrypted dept.

[A] Melbourne-based company Assembly Four created Switter after its founders learned that social media platforms were either removing sex workers' content or banning their accounts. Without the time or resources to build a whole new network from scratch, the group turned to Mastodon.

The Verge reports:

Sex workers are running out of safe online spaces. Craigslist is no longer displaying personal ads. The controversial classifieds site Backpage, which many escorts used to screen clients, has been seized by the FBI. Adult content is disappearing off Google Drive, and many sex workers say they're being forced off social media. With the news that President Trump has signed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), their options will continue to dwindle — and with it, the ability for many sex workers to pay their bills, let alone do so safely.

Over the past few weeks, sex workers have been turning to an unexpected platform to remain online: the social network Mastodon, under a new instance called "Switter." Melbourne-based company Assembly Four created Switter after its founders learned that social media platforms were either removing sex workers' content or banning their accounts. Without the time or resources to build a whole new network from scratch, the group turned to Mastodon.

Although ostensibly aimed at sex trafficking prevention, FOSTA's reduction of legal protections for websites is having disastrous consequences for sex workers. Faced with the new potential for litigation, many websites are removing any content or avenues that could possibly violate FOSTA. It's disconnecting many of the most vulnerable sex workers from crucial resources.

[...] Switter may offer a temporary salve for the community, yet sex workers say it cannot stand as a last bastion, an end-all be-all answer for their profession. Assembly Four says it's prepared to continue working to make it a safe destination for sex workers, but that they need real change.

"The best-case scenario would be the opposite," says Hunt. "The best-case scenario would be if we didn't need to have safe spaces, if public spaces were somewhere we were accepted."

Fast-Company, Buzzfeed, Vice and Techdirt have related stories.


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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 15 2018, @12:34PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 15 2018, @12:34PM (#667246)

    Diaspora, Tor, Freenet and others should qualify, covering the needs of mainstream users and degenerates alike.

    What needs to be done next?

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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Sunday April 15 2018, @12:41PM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 15 2018, @12:41PM (#667248) Journal

    What needs to be done next?

    Well, it needs to get enough income to advertise it, of course.

    (grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Sunday April 15 2018, @02:21PM (1 child)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Sunday April 15 2018, @02:21PM (#667270)

    Simple: People need to actually use them, instead of whining about the corporate-owned centralized platforms they refuse to abandon. Good luck with that.

    • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Monday April 16 2018, @01:16AM

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Monday April 16 2018, @01:16AM (#667444) Homepage Journal

      Folks will use the ones that get them laid. That's what made Facebook great. And if this Swiffer works for that, it'll become great too. But my money's on Facebook!!!