Congress is set to consider yet another proposed mandate for a cryptocurrency study, this time in the area of sex trafficking.
The House of Representatives Financial Services Committee is introducing a new bill today that, if passed and signed into law, would require the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to open a study on “how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated with sex trafficking or drug trafficking, and for other purposes.”
According to a memorandum dated 11 June 2018, U.S. Congressman Juan Vargas penned the Fight Illicit Network and Detect (FIND) Trafficking Act in order to “improve the efforts of Federal agencies to impede the use of virtual currencies and online marketplaces in facilitating sex and drug trafficking.”
This is not the first bill introduced under the Trump presidency that targets illegal sex trafficking online. Back in February, a controversial bill package known as FOSTA–SESTA was passed by the US House of Representatives, which effectively banned online forums from posting ads for sex workers.
The proposed FIND Trafficking Act would launch an examination into cryptocurrencies and their role in potentially enabling the efforts of sex traffickers.
For workers in the regulated adult entertainment industry, cryptocurrencies are playing an increasingly larger role as an alternative method of payment…
Read Full: Congressional Bill Calls for Study of Crypto Use in Sex Trafficking
