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

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K1052

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
49,117
39,291
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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.
 
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vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,344
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K1052 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

interchange

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,023
2,872
136
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.
 
R

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
interchange said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

Bitek

Lifer
Aug 2, 2001
10,676
5,238
136
realibrad said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

Zorba

Lifer
Oct 22, 1999
15,428
11,042
136
Bitek said:
To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness!"
Click to expand...

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

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
6,522
280
126
www.the-teh.com
Jhhnn said:
Notice who's wearing orange & who's not-

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

First rat gets the cheese...
Click to expand...

That's a court jail?!?

Bitek said:
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!"
Click to expand...

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

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,610
2,172
146
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.
 
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Ns1

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,419
1,599
126
crashtech said:
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.
Click to expand...

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

crashtech

Lifer
Jan 4, 2013
10,610
2,172
146
Ns1 said:
isn't that the point though? they're not always consenting.
Click to expand...
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.
 
Bitek

Bitek

Lifer
Aug 2, 2001
10,676
5,238
136
SteveGrabowski said:
Was it like 500 men and one fat chick?
Click to expand...

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.
 
W

Wordplay

Golden Member
Jun 28, 2010
1,318
1
81
VirtualLarry said:
Is this the end of "online personals"?
Click to expand...

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

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
6,522
280
126
www.the-teh.com
Wordplay said:
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.
Click to expand...

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