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Notorious website backpage.com has been seized according to NY Daily News.
Sex ads platform Backpage.com was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Friday hours after its founder's Phoenix home was raided.
Visitors to the site landed on a notice from the federal government announcing its seizure.
"Backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, with analytical assistance from the Joint Regional Intelligence Center," the announcement read.
Founder's home also raided by the FBI Friday morning.
U.S. Government Seizes backpage.com
The FBI, Justice Department, and other agencies have seized backpage.com, and one of the co-founders had their home raided:
On Friday, federal law enforcement authorities seized Backpage domain names, including Backpage.com and Backpage.ca. In addition, the Arizona Republic reported that on Friday morning, law enforcement raided the Sedona-area home of Michael Lacey, a co-founder of the site.
For years, Backpage has acted with impunity as a place that offered thinly veiled online prostitution ads. In December 2016, Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer and his co-defendants beat back a state prosecution in California.
Sex workers aren't happy, and could be endangered by the move as well as the recent passage of the Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act (SESTA). SESTA is not yet in effect.
Also at CNN, WSJ, The Hill, and The Verge.
Previously: Supreme Court Chief Justice Blocks Congressional Subpoena Over First Amendment Rights
Backpage's Dallas Offices Raided, CEO Charged With "Pimping"
"Pimping" Charges Against Backpage Executives Dismissed
After Release of U.S. Senate Report, Backpage Shuts Down U.S. Adult Section
Related: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - 20 Years of Protecting Intermediaries
Craigslist Removes Personals Sections in the U.S.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Saturday April 07 2018, @05:27PM (4 children)
Backpage has been around since 2004, and only now are they being busted? WTF?
Enforcement actions against sexually oriented businesses generally increase as an election approaches. So long as there are large numbers of voters who are prudes, convinced that even mere soft porn is immoral, and that National Geographic has gone to the devil for occasionally showing native women who go about topless, and elected officials think smacking down sex could win lots more votes than it loses, they're going to lean on law enforcement to look tough on the issue. And law enforcement will respond, with officers who use these sexual services getting the word to chill for a bit and not embarrass the brass, before they execute a few raids and take downs.
In this case, the enforcement action seems a little early. The big election is still just over half a year away. So perhaps there's another motivation behind the timing of this. Besides, why wasn't Backpage busted sooner? Had at least half a dozen big elections since it was founded. Could well be that it has to do with who is in power these days. Backpage maybe didn't get noticed in 2004 or 2006 because it was too new, then in 2008 the economy was tanking, and after that it wasn't until this election year that the social conservatives were the incumbents, and they want to get this done while they still have power.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by requerdanos on Saturday April 07 2018, @05:39PM
Three primary factors were involved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 07 2018, @05:46PM
Jeff Sessions & Mike Pence got asked about ads there that were specific to their kinks?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 07 2018, @06:30PM (1 child)
Most likely the recent change in the law. Backpages.com and the Feds have been going at it for many years and the timing is probably just a matter of the fact that there's been a change in law that provided the prosecutors more power to do something about it.
I'm not sure where people got the idea that this was somehow new or unexpected, they would have done this years ago if they had the power to do so.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Saturday April 07 2018, @06:42PM
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