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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

In response [craigslist.org] to the passage [soylentnews.org] of the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), Craigslist has removed Personals sections for U.S. users [bbc.com]:

Classified advertising website Craigslist has closed its dating ads section in the US, in response to a new bill against sex trafficking.

The bill states that websites can now be punished for "facilitating" prostitution and sex trafficking.

Ads promoting prostitution and child sexual abuse have previously been posted in the "personals" section of Craigslist.

The company said keeping the section open in the US was too much of a risk.

In a statement, Craigslist said the new law would "subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully".

Reddit also took the opportunity [reddit.com] to ban a number of subreddits [reddit.com] (list not exhaustive), including some like /r/escorts, but many more broadly related to "transactions for goods and services".

Also at Ars Technica [arstechnica.com] and The Verge [theverge.com].

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