Is there a more boring thing on this planet than reading a platform’s terms of service? They're horrible documents littered with legal terms not designed for humans, but are the bedrock of every single online platform we use. By understanding what's in a platform's terms of service, detecting key terms relevant to sex workers and where to actually find the damn documents, you'll be able to make more informed decisions around the platforms you want to spend your precious time, money and social capital on.
FOSTA-SESTA
Because most online platforms are run by businesses in the USA, no discussion about platform policies relevant to sex work can begin without first understanding a USA law called FOSTA-SESTA. It's probably not the first time you've heard of it so I'll be brief, but according to Wikipedia, FOSTA-SESTA "makes it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate, or support sex trafficking".
In a misguided attempt to achieve that aim, FOSTA-SESTA strips away what's known as Section 230 - a portion of the USA's Communications Decency Act that provides immunity for online platforms for the actions of their users. For example, if you brainstorm a crime in Google Docs then go and do it, technically Google isn't legally responsible for the crime. But when it comes to sex trafficking, FOSTA-SESTA invalidates Section 230 and as Wikipedia explains, makes a business "liable for any usage of their platforms that facilitates sex trafficking, knowingly if they moderate for such content, and with reckless disregard if they do not proactively take steps to prevent such usage".
FOSTA-SESTA is a radical change from the status quo for online platforms and without Section 230 covering their arse, online platforms lean towards extreme moderation on adult content, not wanting to give even the slightest impression that content on their platform might be sex work should a judge interpret that content as sex trafficking.
With that background in mind, it might make a little more sense as to why USA businesses act the way they do when it comes to sex work. FOSTA-SESTA isn't the only reason, but it's certainly a decent chunk of the reason.
Platform Terms, Policies, Guidelines and How To Find Them
Most platforms have multiple documents covering a range of topics regarding their service. If you use your search engine of choice to look for "instagram terms and conditions" or "tiktok policies" or something like that, you'll find where on the platform's website they're hiding this stuff.
Terms of Service
The TOS are technically a contract between you and the platform operator that you agree to abide by when using their platform. Often you need to agree to it before they'll let you make an account, but nobody reads it. The document outlines stuff like what the platform does, what they offer you, the limits of the platform's liability, and what to do if you have a beef with them.
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policies detail what data this platform collects from you while using the platform, how that data is used and who it is shared with. They vary wildly in detail, depending on how transparent the company is, along with their legal obligations depending on the jurisdiction they operate in. For example, American companies tend to be less forthcoming than European ones, due to the lack of legal framework in the US versus the EU.
Community Standards
Usually contains what's in the terms of service, but in a format more suitable for laypeople, often with examples of what is or isn't suitable to post on the platform. Can be also called a “moderation guideline” or “community guideline”. When a post is removed or an account deleted, it's usually this document they refer to as to why that action was taken.
What Should I Look For?
If you're super keen you can read the entire document, but I don't think even the CEOs of these platforms have read their full suite of policy documents! A little trick I use is the search function in my web browser to look for certain phrases and see what the platform has to say about them. Some phrases you might want to search for include:
Adult, Sex, Pornography – No platform will be perfect, but if you understand how they'll handle these particular flavours of spicy content, you'll know what to expect when you post it.
Location, Browsing, IP Address – What data do the platforms collect while you use their apps and websites? It's not always detailed, but some allude to it in their policy documents.
Third/3rd party, Sharing, Opt Out – Mainly relevant in the Privacy Policy, but who do the platforms share their data with? Can you opt-out of that?
Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI – Platforms can take user generated content and use it to train AI models, so it's worth checking if they're doing that with your data. If they are, who they are giving it to, and can you opt-out?
Dispute Resolution, Appeal – What can you do if you think you have been wronged by the platform? Most of the time the response will be something like, "lol see u in court bitch", but sometimes they'll outline how to appeal a decision to their moderation/content team.
T&C's Can Be Broken
As Miss Marilyn eloquently explained in a recent blog post here, platforms can still kick you out even if you didn't do anything that explicitly contravenes the terms and conditions or platform policies. The account Miss Marilyn made after the initial deplatforming was later shadowbanned. Even when they miraculously got their account back (this almost never happens) over a year later, their engagement wasn't the same.
What can you do about it? Not much beyond making a new account and trying again. There's a phrase popular with nerdy systems thinker types (aka eggheads) that explains this – "the purpose of a system is what it does". There is no way to appeal a platform’s decisions because they don't want you to appeal their decisions. A platform puts vague and broad terms in their policies because they want the flexibility to remove whatever suits them. It's all a big shit sandwich we gotta eat, otherwise we'll go hungry.
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