Taylor Lorenz’s Power User Why The Internet Is Broken
Feb 23, 2026
Siri Dahl, activist and adult-industry creator advocating for sex worker rights, explains how FOSTA-SESTA reshaped online safety and censorship. They cover Backpage's shutdown, platform-wide adult-content bans, and how policy pushed marginalized workers into danger. The conversation traces moral panics, Big Tech’s role, and warns against repeating these harms with new legislation.
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FOSTA-SESTA Backfired And Harmed Sex Workers
- FOSTA-SESTA was the first major carve-out to Section 230 and intended to stop sex trafficking but instead accelerated mass deplatforming of sex workers and marginalized people.
- In the first year post-passage 72% of sex workers reported more financial insecurity and many experienced increased violence, coercion, homelessness, and being pushed onto the street.
Backpage Was A Cooperative Classifieds Site
- Backpage operated like an early Craigslist classifieds site and often helped law enforcement by cooperating on problematic ads.
- When investigators targeted Backpage and it was seized, that cooperative channel disappeared, worsening harms for many sex workers.
Moral Panic Enabled Bipartisan Section 230 Erosion
- Broad bipartisan moral panic about tech after 2016 fueled support for aggressive internet regulation, despite limited understanding of Section 230.
- Only Ron Wyden and Rand Paul voted against FOSTA-SESTA because they grasped Section 230's importance.