Podcast Summary: "How One Tweak to the Internet Led This Guy to a BDSM Dungeon"

Podcast: Question Everything
Host: Brian Reed
Guest: Davin Addison (aka Davin Strong)
Date: January 15, 2026

Overview

In this episode of Question Everything, host Brian Reed investigates the real-world impact of changes to Section 230, the law shielding internet platforms from liability for user-generated content. Focusing on the 2018 FOSTA-SESTA amendment—which aimed to fight online sex trafficking but ended up drastically and controversially affecting legal sex work—Reed shares the story of adult performer Davin Addison, whose livelihood and safety were fundamentally altered by the legislation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Section 230: What It Is and Why It Matters

• Section 230 (Communications Decency Act, 1996) protects platforms from lawsuits over user postings, enabling the modern internet (00:00).
• Reed advocates for reform, acknowledging the risks that change might bring (00:00).
• The 2018 FOSTA-SESTA bill rolled back some protections to combat sex trafficking but had significant unintended effects (00:42).

Davin Addison’s Journey into Sex Work

• Davin begins sex work during a tough period in college, after mental health challenges and quitting his wrestling team (02:18–04:28).
• Moves from fitness modeling to cam work, then expands as he discovers how online platforms can be monetized (03:33–05:23).
• Uses Instagram to drive business to his OnlyFans, capitalizing on the broader reach to build a substantial following (09:03–09:45).
• The model: post playful, non-explicit photos on Instagram, link to explicit paid content on OnlyFans (09:45).

“It’s like the more followers I can get, the more eyes that are going to be on, you know, this link.”
— Davin Addison (09:03)

The Fallout from FOSTA-SESTA

• After FOSTA-SESTA, Instagram and other platforms start aggressively removing adult content and accounts, decimating Davin’s business (10:25–14:14).
• Davin’s income drops from $3–4k a month to $500–$1,000, and his Instagram account (100,000 followers) is deleted (14:14).
• Major platforms overcorrect, banning even legal sex work content to avoid liability (14:26).

“This is the section 230 butterfly effect in action.”
— Brian Reed (14:26)

Increased Risk, Hard Decisions

• With online promotion avenues gone, Davin is forced into more dangerous, in-person sex work and escorting, confronting legal gray areas and personal risk (17:47–19:05).
• Reed outlines how the crackdown on platforms also eroded support systems and harmed sex workers, making their work less safe and more underground (25:14–26:16).
• Davin shares harrowing stories of in-person encounters gone wrong—panic attacks, physical danger, and being forced into risky situations for income (22:54–24:25).

“I’m meeting up with random, mostly men…Still makes me uncomfortable. I mean, I’m just meeting a dude, you know.”
— Davin Addison (17:57)

Did FOSTA-SESTA Fulfill Its Mission?

• Reed describes how, while FOSTA-SESTA allowed for lawsuits against enablers of sex trafficking, it hasn’t produced big wins for victims, and enforcement remains confusing (21:37).
• The shutdown of Backpage (a hub for trafficking) is often cited as a win, but legally didn’t rely on FOSTA-SESTA and might even hinder law enforcement now (21:37–22:20).
• Reed and Davin discuss how laws intended to help victims resulted in more risk for workers like Davin and little change for actual trafficking outcomes (31:25–32:05).

Coping, Advocacy, and Adaptation

• Davin tries rebuilding his audience but encounters algorithmic restrictions (“shadowbanned”), so pivots to doing hardcore porn with collaborators to share audiences (28:46–30:28).
• He earns more (sometimes up to $10k/month), but only after moving further from his preferences due to regulatory crackdown (30:54).
• Returns to more selective, mixed sex/escort work, focusing on “boyfriend experience," massages, and “pro doming” in Las Vegas (31:25).

“I started doing hardcore porn as a result of that.”
— Davin Addison (30:28)

The Broader Ethical and Policy Dilemma

• Reed and Davin reflect on the complex, often contradictory outcomes: the law was designed to fight trafficking but pushed legal adult trade into riskier territory (32:05).
• Reed resists simplistic takeaways; FOSTA-SESTA had real victims, but Section 230 in its unchanged form is also problematic (32:05–34:27).

“If you fundamentally have an issue with sex work, then I think you have to address the issue of poverty.”
— Davin Addison (33:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• On Starting in Sex Work:
  “I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna go jerk off on camera now. I’m doing it.”
  — Davin Addison, recalling a pivotal decision (05:21)

• On Losing His Business Overnight:
  “With the flick of a switch, literally, shit just started getting pulled down.”
  — Davin Addison (10:25)

• On Sex Work and Social Attitudes:
  “A collaboration means porn.”
  — Davin Addison (30:26)

• On the Complexity of FOSTA-SESTA’s Impact:
  “It kind of knots up his brain, like, what can I do other than be a voice that’s like, sex trafficking is bad. Obviously, sex work means for people to make money, good.”
  — Davin Addison (33:30)

• Why FOSTA-SESTA Matters to Everyone:
  “People should be concerned about the poor and people who have had to make, you know, hard choices to make money. And...that would be me or sex workers.”
  — Davin Addison (33:55)

• Host’s Final Reflection:
  “Where you come down on it depends on what you think is the least worst option.”
  — Brian Reed (34:27)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• Background on Section 230 and FOSTA-SESTA: 00:00–13:24
• Davin’s Backstory, Becoming a Sex Worker: 02:18–06:39
• Loss of Online Income Post-FOSTA-SESTA: 10:25–15:39
• Shift to Riskier, In-Person Sex Work: 17:22–24:25
• Discussion of Legislative Effectiveness and Unintended Harms: 19:46–26:16
• Navigating Platform Censorship, Adapting the Business: 28:46–30:54
• Big Picture Policy Debate & Final Takeaways: 32:05–34:27

Tone and Style

• Conversational, introspective, and frank. Brian Reed’s reporting brings empathy and nuance, while Davin Addison’s storytelling is candid and sometimes darkly humorous, with underlying vulnerability.
• The episode blends policy analysis with lived experience to illustrate why every tweak to tech law affects real people in unexpected ways.

Takeaways for New Listeners

This episode provides a human face to a heated tech policy debate, breaking down legal changes in Section 230 through the story of Davin Addison, whose digital and real-life hustle highlights the trade-offs impacting marginalized workers when internet law changes. The discussion is nuanced, avoiding easy answers, and invites listeners to question their own assumptions about tech policy, sex work, and morality.

For deeper discussion, listener comments, and related stories, visit the show’s Substack at questioneverything.substack.com.