Document Type

Article

Publication

Iowa L. Rev.

Year

2013

Abstract

This Article presents an entirely novel approach to prostitution reform focused on incremental market improvement facilitated by information law and policy. Empirical evidence from the economics and sociology of sex work shows that new, Internet-enabled, indoor forms of prostitution may be healthier, less violent, and more rewarding than traditional street prostitution. This Article argues that these existing "Prostitution 2.0" innovations have not yet improved sex markets sufficiently to warrant legalization. It suggests that creating a new "Prostitution 3.0" that solves the remaining problems of disease, violence, and coercion in prostitution markets is possible, but would require removing legal barriers to ongoing technological innovation in this context, such as state laws criminalizing technologies that "advance prostitution." This Article considers what Prostitution 3.0 might entail, how it might be created, and whether it would succeed in remedying the ongoing problems in prostitution markets.

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