Website Backpage.com has been seized by Justice Dept for sex trafficking and prostitution

[JEDI]

https://www.cnet.com/news/official-doj-backpage-seized-by-federal-law-enforcement-update/

Revenue at Backpage increased to $135 million in 2014 from $5.3 million in 2008, according to a Senate report last year.
More than 90 percent of the earnings came from adult ads

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said the seizure of the site was “an important step forward in the fight against human trafficking.”

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Goddammit how am I supposed to supplement my income now?!

 

[sdifox]

Why are they even setting up shop in the US?

 

[K1052]

Around the time we finally give up the drug war the US should also legalize and regulate sex workers. It would be easier to bust the people doing bad shit rather than forcing everybody into progressively darker corners of the internet.

 

[vi edit]

Around the time we finally give up the drug war the US should also legalize and regulate sex workers. It would be easier to bust the people doing bad shit rather than forcing everybody into progressively darker corners of the internet.

That means you'd also have roll back age of consent laws to secure the evangelical vote.

 

[Jhhnn]

Notice who's wearing orange & who's not-

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ederal-prostitution-money-laundering-charges/

First rat gets the cheese...

 

[Rifter]

That was hosted in the US? what a bunch of idiots.

 

[K1052]

That means you'd also have roll back age of consent laws to secure the evangelical vote.

Gross yet accurate.

 

[interchange]

I thought I've heard of cases where placing backpage ads for child sex was a tool that investigators used to capture some criminals. If law enforcement knows your site is the place to go for catfishing pedophiles, then it's a pretty good bet you are criminally liable for what goes on.

 

[realibrad]

I thought I've heard of cases where placing backpage ads for child sex was a tool that investigators used to capture some criminals. If law enforcement knows your site is the place to go for catfishing pedophiles, then it's a pretty good bet you are criminally liable for what goes on.

Well, then you would then have to take down many many other sites where this same thing is done.

Section 320 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protected Backpage like it now does for FB, Google, Youtube ect. It established 2 important things that, if we did not have, would be the end of the modern internet and all the media on it. What it establishes is freedom of speech and limited liability when a 3rd party posts something.

In this case, Backpage is not liable for what other post on its platform so long as it deals with it in a reasonable way. This is the same for Youtube. What got Backpage into trouble is that it was censoring keywords from ads that the government said was done to hide illegal activity.

This forum will remove or block some words it finds offensive. Backpage was removing those words completely from ads. So if you tried to have an ad that said [banned] girls, the ad would get posted as just girls. It was for every add that went out there, so it was not targeting just the adult section.

Not all ads were modified in this way. Sometimes the ad would outright be stopped from being posted.

By no means was Backpage unique in what it was doing though, so the legal case should be interesting.

 

[Bitek]

Well, then you would then have to take down many many other sites where this same thing is done.

Section 320 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protected Backpage like it now does for FB, Google, Youtube ect. It established 2 important things that, if we did not have, would be the end of the modern internet and all the media on it. What it establishes is freedom of speech and limited liability when a 3rd party posts something.

In this case, Backpage is not liable for what other post on its platform so long as it deals with it in a reasonable way. This is the same for Youtube. What got Backpage into trouble is that it was censoring keywords from ads that the government said was done to hide illegal activity.

This forum will remove or block some words it finds offensive. Backpage was removing those words completely from ads. So if you tried to have an ad that said [banned] girls, the ad would get posted as just girls. It was for every add that went out there, so it was not targeting just the adult section.

Not all ads were modified in this way. Sometimes the ad would outright be stopped from being posted.

By no means was Backpage unique in what it was doing though, so the legal case should be interesting.

Apparently there is a new law. CL just shuttered their personals section with the statement below:

"
US Congress just passed HR 1865, "FOSTA", seeking to subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully.

Any tool or service can be misused. We can't take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day.

To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness!"

 

[Zorba]

To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness!"

I'm sorry, the thought of meeting a spouse on Craigslist just makes me cringe.

 

[Bitek]

I'm sorry, the thought of meeting a spouse on Craigslist just makes me cringe.

Yeah, although flipping through the causal encounters/swinger sub was good for a cheap laugh. Sad!

 

[Zorba]

Yeah, although flipping through the causal encounters/swinger sub was good for a cheap laugh. Sad!

I agree, I will miss my semi-annual stroll through the weirdness.

 

[paperfist]

Notice who's wearing orange & who's not-

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ederal-prostitution-money-laundering-charges/

First rat gets the cheese...

That's a court jail?!?

Apparently there is a new law. CL just shuttered their personals section with the statement below:

"
US Congress just passed HR 1865, "FOSTA", seeking to subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully.

Any tool or service can be misused. We can't take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day.

To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness!"

Sounds like a lot of 'dating' websites will be going down with that law.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Is this the end of "online personals"?

 

[crashtech]

It's a waste of time and resources to police the sexual activity of consenting adults.

But if there were kids involved, that needs to be pursued with a vengeance.

 

[Ns1]

It's a waste of time and resources to police the sexual activity of consenting adults.

But if there were kids involved, that needs to be pursued with a vengeance.

isn't that the point though? they're not always consenting.

 

[crashtech]

isn't that the point though? they're not always consenting.

Yeah, that's rape and slavery. I was under the impression that most of the activity was just regular old prostitution. I might be seriously off-base, though. Right now it's hard to separate consensual activity from serious criminal activity with actual victims. Legal, regulated prostitution would make finding the actual bad guys easier for LEOs.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Yeah, although flipping through the causal encounters/swinger sub was good for a cheap laugh. Sad!

Was it like 500 men and one fat chick?

 

[Bitek]

Was it like 500 men and one fat chick?

It was a lot of weird stuff. IDK. Only read it a few times, didn't click on the obvious dude posts, but reading the kink ones was hilarious.

People are strange, and trying to be swingers seems like a hell of a lot of work.

God knows how many posts were real.

 

[Wordplay]

Is this the end of "online personals"?

Yep, escorts on twitter aint happy even the ones in Canada. Multiple review sites that supposedly gave them a chance to "screen clients" went down. They are complaining that this will force them back on the streets or just pick up Johns at the strip clubs now.

 

[paperfist]

Yep, escorts on twitter aint happy even the ones in Canada. Multiple review sites that supposedly gave them a chance to "screen clients" went down. They are complaining that this will force them back on the streets or just pick up Johns at the strip clubs now.

Can't believe pot is running wild now, but the oldest profession is still not legit.

 

[hal2kilo]

Goddammit how am I supposed to supplement my income now?!

No hookers, just blow.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Mistrial declared ....

Judge declares mistrial for Backpage website founders, says government tainted jury with testimony

The co-founders of Backpage, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, had been on trial, charged with facilitating prostitution through their online ad site.

www.usatoday.com