UK Politicians Push For FOSTA SESTA-Style Sex Censorship (engadget.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: If you're familiar with the phrase "that's a terrible idea, let's do it" then you might be one of the British MPs who think that the UK should do its own version of FOSTA-SESTA. That's exactly what Labour MP Sarah Champion has done by leading a debate this week for the creation of laws to criminalize websites used by sex workers in the UK -- under the rubric of fighting trafficking, of course. A self-appointed group of MPs (the "All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade") fronted by Ms. Champion made a call to ban "prostitution websites" during a Wednesday House of Commons debate. Conflating sex work with trafficking just like their American counterparts, they claim websites where workers advertise and screen clients "directly and knowingly" profit from sex trafficking.

Comments

Another step toward a police state

[OneHundredAndTen]

The UK keeps taking steps toward a police state. This is the country where CCTV cameras are literally all over the place. George Orwell wouldn't be all that surprised about what is happening in his country.

Re:they can move to amsterdam!

[JaredOfEuropa]

There's something of a clampdown on prostitution going on here in the Netherlands. The laws have largely remained the same, but mayors can simply opt to withhold or rescind licenses for brothels or windows. I expect the new mayor of Amsterdam, appointed* earlier this month, to increase pressure on the sex industry in this manner. With the results usually being that sex workers are criminalized further (it is hard for them even to open a bank account to conduct business), and driven into the hands of actual human traffickers.

*) Yes, our mayors are appointed, not elected. The city Council draws up a job profile, the ministry publishes the vacancy. The King's Commissioner for the province does the first selection of candidates, after which the City Council will recommend a few candidates. Usually, the #1 recommended candidate is then appointed.