I doubt that the intent was good at all. Various companies have been trying to get legislation to let them go after (with legal action) websites holding or ref

I doubt that the intent was good at all. Various companies have been trying to get legislation to let them go after (with legal action) websites holding or referencing "illicit online content" (not necessarily sexual in nature) even when such content is user generated. This is just another evolution of SOPA and PIPA carefully given a name that would make fighting it political suicide. It's a fairly common tactic. Even the organizations trying to fight online predation say that at best, SESTA won't do anything to help and more likely than not will hinder their efforts.