FOSTA-SESTA & Its Impact on Romance Pay-Per-Chapter Apps

Law Overview
- FOSTA-SESTA (2018) was created to fight sex trafficking, not to ban fiction.

- It holds platforms responsible for any content that could be linked to trafficking.

- Why Platforms Over-Censor
Big tech (Google, Apple, Facebook, PayPal, Stripe) fear legal risks, so they ban/restrict adult content broadly.

- AI moderation & app store policies block romance books even when they are legal.

- Payment processors refuse transactions for "adult" content, forcing apps to censor.

- Impact on Romance Fiction & Pay-Per-Chapter Apps
GoodNovel, Dreame, Webnovel still promote adult books by avoiding direct “18+” marketing.
They limit explicit content to <10%, use vague descriptions, and keep steamy scenes behind paywalls.

- Ad restrictions make it harder to promote, but apps continue paying for and publishing romance books.

What Happens If Trump Returns?

- Stricter or looser enforcement is possible, but no immediate changes.

- Platforms, not the government, are enforcing censorship to avoid risks.

Conclusion

FOSTA-SESTA does not ban fiction, but platforms over-censor due to fear of lawsuits and payment restrictions. Romance apps still thrive by adjusting marketing and content strategies.

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