Official Changes to FetLife's Content Guidelines due to SESTA / FOSTA

by JohnBaku April 4th, 2018

Thank you to everyone who gave their feedback on our initial set of proposed changes to our Content Guidelines. The proposed changes are in preparation for new legislation that has been passed by an overwhelming majority in both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate and is just waiting for the US President to sign into law.

It's clear that as a community we are all behind the intent of the law i.e., to combat sex trafficking, but we are not behind the way the law is going about trying to curb the very serious issue.

As a community, we also believe that the law's phrasing will be an overall net-negative and cause considerably more harm than good by putting many sex workers at greater risk.

Some have rightfully asked why FetLife is making changes to our guidelines due to a law that FetLife and the community find difficult to support in good conscience? For FetLife and the community to fight the good fight, we need to make sure we are not in a position where someone can easily silence us. The intent instead is to strengthen our community, to ensure that we can sustain Fetlife as a safe space for exploration and expression. We have to make sure we are holding a Spartan line without a crack in the armor. To do that, we need to make sure we are being proactive and following potential changes to laws before they even happen. Then and only then can we consider how to best help improve current legislations and/or steer potential changes to legislation.

And that is what we will do. But first, let's get our house in order!

Here is a list of initial changes we will be making to our content guidelines:

Exchanging Sex Acts for Goods or Services: We've never allowed members of FetLife to exchange sex acts for goods or services, so we don't need to change our guideline. However, we will be taking a harder line on any member that tries to exchange a sex act for goods or services. If a member joins FetLife just to find someone to exchange a sex act for goods or services, we will lock them out and put their profile in the delete queue. If an active member is found trying to exchange a sex act for goods, we will give them one warning. If the member initiates a second exchange, we will lock them out of their profile and put them in the delete queue. This process applies for all parties involved in a sex for goods transaction: the one offering the sex act (i.e., prostitute), the one offering a good in exchange for a sex act (i.e., john), and anyone doing any go-between (i.e., pimp).

Escorting: This one was tougher, but to help manage our risk, we will no longer allow people to offer any type of escorting services on FetLife. Meaning, we will no longer allow groups devoted to escorting, members to advertise their escorting services on their profile, etc. As a team, we want to reiterate that there is nothing wrong with escorting. It’s just an unfortunate reality that people often use the term “escort” as a euphemism for more than just escorting. If an escort is found using Fetlife to find a client and is then caught offering more than just companionship, FetLife can be held liable, fined, and I can be imprisoned for up to 25 years.

Consensual Blackmail & Financial Domination: Consensual blackmail & financial domination are valid and exciting kinks for some, but unfortunately scammers and fake accounts use these kinks as a ploy for exploitation far too frequently for us to ensure the safety of our members. Now with SESTA/FOSTA on the horizon, consensual blackmail and financial domination cases could become a larger threat to Fetlife as a whole. Hence, we will no longer be able to allow consensual blackmail & financial domination play on FetLife.

Our guidelines are not set in stone. As we continue to learn about the new law through case law, we will continue to evolve our guidelines to incorporate new information, support our members, and keep Fetlife and the community out of harm's way.

On behalf of FetLife, we are sorry to anyone these changes affect negatively. We can't for a second understand to what extent this change in law jeopardizes your safety. Please be safe out there, and even though you no longer can do certain things on FetLife, our doors will always be open to you.

John
FAQ

Why does FetLife have to abide by American laws as a non-American Company?
As long as FetLife wants to be accessible to Americans we need to follow American laws. The same applies to other countries like Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, etc.. Plus, if we are serious about trying to fight to improve the lives and rights of kinksters, we could do nothing worse then NOT abide by the rules of the countries we are present in.

What do you consider a sex act?
Currently, based on our research of US and Canadian law, we define a sex act to be any of the following:

Mouth to penis
Hand on penis
Mouth to vagina
Hand on vagina
Mouth to anus
Hand to anus
Penetration, however slight, of vagina by penis, hand, or object
Penetration, however slight, of anus by penis, hand, or object

What about Pro-Dommes and Pro-Subs?
Currently, as long as a Pro-Domme or Pro-Sub is not found to be exchanging a sex act for goods or services, then they don't fall under any of our new content guidelines and will not be affected by the change.

What about support groups for Sex Workers?
The plan is to continue to allow sex worker support groups on FetLife assuming they are well moderated. If they are not, we will have to review the groups on a case by case basis.

How about camgirls, models, people who make adult clips/movies, etc.?
Currently, none of the above will be affected by the changes to our guidelines.

How about swinger parties, sex-parties, gangbangs?
The devil is in the details. At swinger parties people pay an entry fee with no guarantee of any form of sex, that is perfectly okay. Sex-parties and gangbangs have to make sure not to cross the line from swinger-esque parties where you pay for entry into an event with non-paid participants into exchanging sex acts for goods.