Amazon and Microsoft employees caught up in sex trafficking sting
The tech industry has a clear history of sexism and misogyny, but a recent Newsweek report highlights another problem. The publication got its hands on a slew of emails sent to brothels and pimps between 2014 and 2016 that document the industry's patronage of brothels and purchasing of services from trafficked sex workers. Among the emails, which were obtained through a public records request to the King County Prosecutor's Office, were 67 sent from Microsoft employee email accounts, 63 from Amazon accounts and dozens more from companies like Boeing, T-Mobile, Oracle and local Seattle tech firms.
Some of the emails were collected during a 2015 sting operation that targeted sex worker review boards and resulted in the arrest of 18 individuals, including high-level Amazon and Microsoft directors. Two opted for a trial, which is currently set to begin in March.
Seattle's sex industry has grown right alongside its tech industry and the city's authorities have said that some men spend up to $50,000 per year on sex workers. Brothels are even known to advertise how close they are to tech offices. Alex Trouteaud, director of policy and research at the anti-trafficking organization Demand Abolition, told Newsweek that the tech industry is a "culture that has readily embraced trafficking."
Newsweek: Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails
Related: "Pimping" Charges Against Backpage Executives Dismissed
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 27 2017, @02:46AM (2 children)
A protected class of illegal immigrants, since otherwise they are looking at getting deported, in some cases back to countries or debts which will just see them shipped off to some other worse country than the US to 'pay back their debt'.
Having said that, prostitution definitely needs to get legalized in the US, we have enough STD dangers as it is right now, and having sex workers as a well regulated industry could do something to help alleviate that as it would offer an outlet for people who otherwise might make questionable decisions because they are sexually frustrated.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday December 27 2017, @06:51AM
But I'm not sure it needs to be legalized in a "free enterprise" mode. Yes, legalize it, but have lots of inspections to ensure that the participants are willing and healthy.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 27 2017, @01:43PM
We call that "legal immigrants".