Craigslist Personal Ads Shut Down after Congress Passes FOSTA Law

In response to the new “FOSTA” law, HR 1685, Craigslist has decided to remove their personal ads section. You can read their update here.

The law seeks “to subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully.”

FOSTA “shall apply regardless of whether the conduct alleged occurred… before, on, or after such date of enactment.” That’s an ex post facto law, which is explicitly forbidden by the U.S. Constitution.

It aims to destroy the Section 230 internet legislation which has helped the internet flourish for the last 22 years.

thedailybeast.com writes:

No less than the U.S. Department of Justice has urged against passing FOSTA, calling it unconstitutional and saying that it would make prosecuting sex traffickers harder. “You’re heading in the wrong direction if you [pass a bill] that would raise the burden of proof in cases against sex traffickers,” said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden Wednesday from the Senate floor.

Also, Congress snuck the “CLOUD act” into their must-pass omnibus package on page 2,201. The so-called CLOUD Act would hand police departments in the U.S. and other countries new powers to directly collect data from tech companies instead of requiring them to first get a warrant. It would even let foreign governments wiretap inside the U.S. without having to comply with U.S. Wiretap Act restrictions. (reddit.com)

Read more:

eff.org

This isn’t really “Florida news,” but it does severely affect our state, our freedom, this website and many others.