A sex worker fears a new Government bill will force her into a brothel to make ends meet.
Escort Summer Dahlia is terrified the Online Safety Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, will put her in greater danger.
She thinks the legislation will stop her from advertising her services on classified ad sites like AdultWork.
Summer said AdultWork lets her choose her own clients and avoid the dangers of brothels or street sex work.
The 25-year-old, from London, told the Mirror: "The bill will force sex workers into brothels and cause a resurgence in street sex work.
"At the moment I am able to select and screen my clients before meeting them.
"I get 100 per cent of my clients through the internet. But I would lose the ability to do that if this law comes into force.
"I don't want to say I would definitely go into a brothel but that might be the reality.
"I wouldn't be able to afford my rent and bills on a minimum wage job.
"If I had to work on the street or in a brothel I would be exposed to pimps, drugs and violence - things I'm currently protected from by advertising on the internet."
She added that many escorts are single mums who might struggle to find suitable work in another industry, especially if they have no qualifications.
Prostitution is currently legal in the UK as long as escorts are working independently, however acting as a pimp is against the law.
Last year a Scottish Parliament inquiry found that ‘pimping websites’ such as Vivastreet facilitated and incentivised sex trafficking.
It was claimed Vivastreet allowed pimps to post adverts about women under their control.
Westminster's new Online Safety Bill intends to crack down on tech firms which are ‘inciting or controlling prostitution for gain’.
The wider aim of the bill is stamp out harmful content on the internet, including trolling and child pornography.
However, Summer said sites like Vivastreet and AdultWork help sex workers stay safe as they can screen their clients.
UK escorts can also use the website National Ugly Mugs to see if the person they are about to meet is dangerous.
But sex workers fear this website could also be affected by the new law.
Summer warned that the Online Safety Bill could negatively affect UK sex workers in the same way the anti-sex trafficking law FOSTA-SESTA caused harm in the US.
The act, which passed in 2018, sparked the closure of the 'personals' section on Craigslist and shut down the 'bad johns' website VerifyHim, although this later reopened in a limited capacity.
FOSTA-SESTA was also blamed for cutting sex workers' income and causing an increase in violence against them.
St James Infirmary, a non-profit clinic for sex workers in California, said former pimps had even 'come out of the woodwork' to offer their 'management' services again after the bill passed.
Labour MP Nadia Whittome shared Summer's concerns about the Online Safety Bill and agreed it would put sex workers at greater risk.
She told The Mirror: “ A ban on advertising on the internet, as the Online Safety Bill proposes, will take away some of the few measures that sex workers have to protect themselves – such as the ability to screen clients, work indoors and avoid being managed by others.
“These laws will force sex workers to put themselves at greater risk, as research from the US, where a similar law was introduced, has shown.”
The Government insists the proposed changes will not affect anyone 'engaged in lawful activity', although it is not clear how this will affect sex workers.
A Government spokesman said: "Our Online Safety Bill will place greater responsibility on adult services websites to tackle illegal activity on their sites and work with law enforcement to prevent trafficking and bring perpetrators to justice.
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“The bill will not shut sites down or require companies to remove individual pieces of content. It will limit the spread of illegal content on adult services websites without displacing people engaged in lawful activity."
Under the current law, the Government said websites are only required to take down content when it is reported by users.
The Online Safety Bill would force sites to be proactive and prevent people from being 'exposed' to the content in the first place.
Vivastreet and AdultWork have been approached for comment.
