Hi, anon. Yes, I'm familiar with the bill. In fact, here's an excerpt from a comment of mine just a few above yours:
Some background into this bill: According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in 75% of cases where they receive reports of child sex trafficking from the general public, the personals website Backpage.com is involved. Obviously, any such service can be abused, but a PSI report claimed that Backpage was deliberately concealing evidence of child sex trafficking, and making it more difficult for authorities to spot, by removing words like "young" or "little girl", but publishing the rest of the ad. In 2015, the PSI subpoenaed the website, and they ignored it, citing the First Amendment, leading to the Senate finding the website in contempt of Congress.
It seems the lawmakers saw an obstacle into resolving a case, and are overlooking the restriction of freedoms and the other consequences from this method of overcoming the obstacle, which I fear could be dire. Backpage shut down its adult content section, and ads for sex with children moved into the dating section instead. And if they go elsewhere entirely, investigators will have to catch them scattered on the winds instead.
The bill also endangers non-trafficked people who sell sex. If they no longer have access to online resources, they have to resort to more dangerous work soliciting on the street. Their ability to share information (such as bad or dangerous customers) could also be shuttered.
I think most people who criticize the bill aren't criticizing its intent, but its effects.
I can't really comment on these allegations about Pounced; I'm not especially familiar with the community and I try not to make a habit of taking drive-by accusations from aggressive anons at 100% face value. I do understand there has been at least one instance where an arrest was made of a furry sleeping with a 17 year old met through Pounced who'd lied about her age, but the culpability of the website itself isn't something I can speak to.
Hi, anon. Yes, I'm familiar with the bill. In fact, here's an excerpt from a comment of mine just a few above yours:
I think most people who criticize the bill aren't criticizing its intent, but its effects.
I can't really comment on these allegations about Pounced; I'm not especially familiar with the community and I try not to make a habit of taking drive-by accusations from aggressive anons at 100% face value. I do understand there has been at least one instance where an arrest was made of a furry sleeping with a 17 year old met through Pounced who'd lied about her age, but the culpability of the website itself isn't something I can speak to.