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posted by takyon on Sunday June 17 2018, @05:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the easy-targets dept.

DOJ Lets Cops Know SESTA/FOSTA Is For Shutting Down Websites, Not Busting Sex Traffickers

[SESTA/FOSTA] is in force and all it's doing is hurting efforts to track down sex traffickers and harming sex workers whose protections were already minimal. Sex traffickers, however, don't appear to be bothered by the new law. But that's because the law wasn't written to target sex traffickers, as a top DOJ official made clear at a law enforcement conference on child exploitation. Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan's comments make it clear SESTA/FOSTA won't be used to dismantle criminal organizations and rescue victims of sex traffickers. It's there to give the government easy wins over websites while sex traffickers continue unmolested.

In April, Backpage.com – the internet's leading forum to advertise child prostitution – was seized and shut down, thanks to the collective action by CEOS and our federal and state partners. The Backpage website was a criminal haven where sex traffickers marketed their young victims. The Backpage takedown – and the contemporaneous arrests of individuals allegedly responsible for administering the site – struck a monumental blow against child sex traffickers.

But other sites inevitably will seek to fill the void left by Backpage, and we must be vigilant in bringing those criminals to justice as well. With the recent passage of the SESTA-FOSTA legislation, state and local prosecutors are now positioned to more effectively prosecute criminals that host online sex trafficking markets that victimize our children.

"Criminals" that "host sex trafficking markets." That's the target. That's any website that might be used by actual sex traffickers to engage in actual sex trafficking. There's no dedicated web service for sex trafficking -- at least not out in the open where Section 230 immunity used to matter. This is all about taking down websites for hosting any content perceived as sex trafficking-related. It wasn't enough to hang Backpage and its execs. The government will be scanning sites for this content and then targeting the website for content posted by third parties it seems mostly uninterested in pursuing.


Original Submission

Related Stories

U.S. EARN IT Act Could Discourage Adoption of End-to-End Encryption 40 comments

Proposed US law is "Trojan horse" to stop online encryption, critics say:

Two Republicans and two Democrats in the US Senate have proposed a law that aims to combat sexual exploitation of children online, but critics of the bill call it a "Trojan horse" that could harm Americans' security by reducing access to encryption. The EARN IT (Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies) Act "would create incentives for companies to 'earn' liability protection for violations of laws related to online child sexual abuse material," an announcement by the bill's supporters said today.

Under current law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides website operators broad legal immunity for hosting third-party content. A 2018 law known as FOSTA-SESTA chipped away at that immunity for content related to prostitution and sex trafficking, and the EARN IT Act would further weaken immunity for website operators who fail to take certain to-be-determined measures to find and remove child sexual-abuse material.

In a related development today, US Attorney General William Barr gave a speech calling for an analysis of how Section 230 affects "incentives for platforms to address [child sexual exploitation] crimes and the availability of civil remedies to the victims."

[...] Stewart Baker, who was formerly assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security and general counsel at the National Security Agency, wrote in a blog post that "there is nothing radical" about the bill. "The risk of liability isn't likely to kill encryption or end Internet security," Baker wrote. But Baker acknowledged that the bill will likely make the decision to offer encryption a more difficult one for tech companies

Related:
U.S. Congress Passes SESTA/FOSTA Law
DoJ Lets Cops Know SESTA/FOSTA Is For Shutting Down Websites, Not Busting Sex Traffickers
Crypto Wars: US AG William Barr and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel Shake Fists at Facebook
Senate Judiciary Committee Interrogates Apple, Facebook about Crypto


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:06PM (#694321)

    We all knew this.. Typical "its for the children" sort of excuse to chip away at our rights and freedoms.
    ( and once again, the idiot public fell for it )

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:13PM (17 children)

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:13PM (#694323) Journal

    The older I get, the more cynical I get about any "think of the children" crusade. Security is the number one pretext for all kinds of censorship and control. Bonus points for making it about children's security.

    Meanwhile, real security for children, in the form of decent single payer health care for minors and some gun control so our schools don't get shot up every other day somehow just can't happen.

    • (Score: 5, Touché) by digitalaudiorock on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:48PM (3 children)

      by digitalaudiorock (688) on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:48PM (#694331) Journal

      The older I get, the more cynical I get about any "think of the children" crusade.

      You're not kidding. The evil that's come out of those politics in almost immeasurable. For me the first sign of the dangers of that mentality were in the 80s with things like the "drug free school zone" shit that started happening. Shit that nobody dares vote against that means you can do more time for a fucking joint that for rape if you didn't happen to know there was a school behind the trees on the next block. This is also how California's insane three strikes shit was pushed through, despite the fact that prosecutors could escalate misdemeanors to felonies...resulting in people going away for life without parole for stealing a fucking beer.

      The next time your legislator proposes "Bobby's Law", track him down, kick him in the nuts, and yea...vote for someone else.

      • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @11:12PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @11:12PM (#694363)

        Butbut! Incels! This law is stopping incels! Don't tell me you're siding with incels! You must be an incel!

        Death to incels! Police be upon them!

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 18 2018, @06:53PM (1 child)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 18 2018, @06:53PM (#694640) Journal

        track him down, kick him in the nuts

        Stalking and causing bodily harm... mmm?

        How many strikes S/N gets until law enforcement closes it down? (TFA shows that "you own your comments" is not a defence against site shutdown)

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 2) by digitalaudiorock on Monday June 18 2018, @07:25PM

          by digitalaudiorock (688) on Monday June 18 2018, @07:25PM (#694666) Journal

          How many strikes S/N gets until law enforcement closes it down? (TFA shows that "you own your comments" is not a defence against site shutdown)

          Ouch! Good point. I was being facetious for what that's worth ;).

    • (Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday June 17 2018, @08:56PM (3 children)

      by Arik (4543) on Sunday June 17 2018, @08:56PM (#694348) Journal
      "The older I get, the more cynical I get about any "think of the children" crusade."

      I may have started out with saturation levels making that impossible. Those arguing for "the welfare of the child" are almost invariably working directly to its detriment.
      --
      If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:51PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:51PM (#694354)

        Are you telling me politicians simply wear a cloak of benevolence while their aims are something else? That can't be. If such a conspiracy were to happen, people would know!

        • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @11:41PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @11:41PM (#694371)

          Exactly. Also, this law is a resounding victory for Third Wave feminism, proof that women everywhere will be liberated, so that, once liberated, they can make me sammiches for minimum wage in my fast food franchise's kitchen, while welfare programs will make up for the difference between cost of living and what I'm paying. No longer will women be in some incel's kitchen! Huzzah!

          Oh, and welfare chocolate rations have increased! Thank God for the IMF! Women everywhere will be able to know the liberation and empowerment of working in my kitchen for less than a living wage!

          Oh, and anybody who disagrees with me is an alt-right homosexual incel rapist He-Man Woman Hater pussy beta cuck commie loser!

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @10:41AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @10:41AM (#694473)
        Children are overvalued. The fact is from a species perspective a successful fertile breeding pair is definitely worth more than two or three children.

        Most humans are wired to overvalue children of course (otherwise they'd kill children more often ;) ).

        But kill an average infant and you just lose about a year or two. Whereas if you kill an average adult you'd lose so much more. If one year a plague kills 500 million infants, babies and toddlers it doesn't matter as much compared to a plague killing that many adults.

        Only in exceptional cases is an average infant more precious than an average adult.
    • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday June 18 2018, @04:07AM (8 children)

      by mhajicek (51) on Monday June 18 2018, @04:07AM (#694420)

      And yet you just said "Gun control 'cause think of the children!!!"
        Hypocrite much?

      --
      The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
      • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Monday June 18 2018, @05:47AM (7 children)

        by bzipitidoo (4388) on Monday June 18 2018, @05:47AM (#694433) Journal

        What's your proposal for dealing with school shootings? Prayer? Fewer exits? Arming the teachers? Or something else, or do you think there's no need to make any changes at all?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @09:56AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @09:56AM (#694460)

          Some problems in life have no solutions. What is the solution to crime?

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by PinkyGigglebrain on Monday June 18 2018, @02:21PM (5 children)

          by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Monday June 18 2018, @02:21PM (#694516)

          Most schools are already "Gun Free Zones". "Feel good" laws like declaring an area "gun free" or "drug free" do not help. What is needed to curb gun violence is action that address the real cause of gun violence, namely the sub cultures that glorifies or accepts violence as an acceptable first response to any conflict or disagreement.

          Saying the problem is because of the guns is like saying that all the car deaths every year are because of the cars. In both cases the cause of the deaths is the person using the tool, not the tool itself.

          The USA has more guns per person than any other country, but there are many countries that have higher gun homicide rates than the USA despite having less guns per person. Its not the guns, it is the culture. Address the real issues like poverty, lack of education, employment opportunities, and accessible mental health care and you will see the number of homicides, assaults, and other violent crimes drop.

          Also the gun homicide rate in the USA has been steadily dropping for the last 30 years, despite what the media might be portraying the issue is improving.

          --
          "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
          • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Monday June 18 2018, @05:26PM (2 children)

            by DeathMonkey (1380) on Monday June 18 2018, @05:26PM (#694590) Journal
            • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Monday June 18 2018, @05:28PM

              by DeathMonkey (1380) on Monday June 18 2018, @05:28PM (#694591) Journal

              Also, since you cherry-picked homicides I'll note that those are ALSO increasing.

              in America are suicides, but an Associated Press analysis of FBI data shows there were about 11,000 gun-related homicides in 2016, up from 9,600 in 2015.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @01:35PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @01:35PM (#694972)

              There are always swings. The overall trend has been that they are decreasing.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @11:48PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @11:48PM (#694748)

            Maybe we should apply similar rules to gun ownership as we do to a drivers license.

            You would need to have a gun license. To get the license you would need to pass a test to show that you can use a gun safely.

            The license would need to be renewed. You would need to carry insurance.

            If you do something really stupid while in possession of a gun you could lose the right to a gun license.

            Right now, a drunk ass good old boy waving a gun around, does not lose the right to own or carry a gun.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @01:05PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @01:05PM (#694960)

              Brandishing, unlawful concealment if applicable, assault (in the legal sense which is quite loose), can all be felonies depending on the jurisdiction and could very well result in losing the right to carry or own a firearm.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Thexalon on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:18PM (12 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:18PM (#694324)

    So, in short, this was to make happy some killjoys angry about the fact that some people are using the Internet to find sexual fulfillment, because sexual fulfillment is bad. Probably said killjoys were at least in part religiously motivated, since the viewpoint of those sorts tends to be "It's OKish for a man to bang his wife, just so long as nobody enjoys it and no precautions are taken against her getting pregnant and having a kid from it. Everything else is not OK!" Or, in other words, "My sex life is terrible, so everyone else's should be too!"

    Of course, this is the same political party that nominates pimps [latimes.com] and teen molesters [newsweek.com] for political office, and are led by a a guy who likes to have affairs with porn stars. But hypocrites are easy to find everywhere.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:52PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:52PM (#694332)

      Also, everyone knows that pimps like backpage should be protected from anything posted on their site. Particularly any postings that they got paid to publish. You know, sexual freedoms and all that stuff.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @02:33PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @02:33PM (#694518)

        Yep, the only people who would have a problem with this law are misogynist incels.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:18PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:18PM (#694351)

      Sounds like a violation of freedom of speech. If bribing politicians can be "freedom of speech" then so should ads for adult romance services.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by stretch611 on Sunday June 17 2018, @10:01PM

      by stretch611 (6199) on Sunday June 17 2018, @10:01PM (#694359)

      It's OKish for a man to bang his wife, just so long as nobody enjoys it and no precautions are taken against her getting pregnant and having a kid from it. Everything else is not OK!" Or, in other words, "My sex life is terrible, so everyone else's should be too!"

      This is not so much as forcing everyone to have a terrible sex life as much as it is the easy way to gain church members.

      The easy way to increase the size of a congregation is for their members to have kids.

      Sex outside of marriage leads many times kids with only one parent, which is generally unaffiliated with a church and less likely to force kids to go every week. (not to mention a smaller chance of being able to afford large donations to the church; being a single parent and all.)

      Homosexual couples can not conceive so many churches frown upon gays. The lack of conception is the same reason why many churches frown on contraceptives.

      --
      Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 18 2018, @02:14AM (7 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 18 2018, @02:14AM (#694392) Journal

      Maybe you can help us out here, Thexalon. You make some religious connection, and apparently you want to blame Christians for this law. But, who lobbied for this mess? FBI? TBH, I don't even know who lobbied for it. A search reveals that Amy Schumer supported it. The same article has a passage

      The protesters also called for a boycott of celebrities who lobbied for the legislation and were set to perform at Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, held at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Center Plaza, this weekend.

      So, who are these celebrities? Oh, Jon Stewart and members of Saturday Night Live. http://www.sfexaminer.com/sex-workers-protest-amy-schumer-support-sesta-fosta-laws/ [sfexaminer.com] Lemme look around some more . . .

      http://thefreedomstory.org/whats-so-controversial-about-sesta [thefreedomstory.org]

      Not all companies have voiced opposition to this bill. Oracle Corp. and 21st Century Fox Inc. have come forward in recent days publicly endorsing SESTA. Though many believe these public endorsements are strategic digs aimed at the behemoth Google.

      Ohio’s Republican Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Connecticut’s Democratic and resolute former Attorney General Richard Blumenthal are the leaders of the bipartisan coalition sponsoring this bill, and

      https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=1FF6DB17-B7A2-4E70-B901-CA07E43065CB [senate.gov]

      Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Hold Backpage Accountable, Ensure Justice for Victims of Sex Trafficking

      This is kind of an interesting sidenote on SESTA/FOSTA: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/23/17237640/fosta-sesta-section-230-internet-freedom [vox.com]

      In September, Oracle wrote a letter supporting FOSTA-SESTA, saying the state of technology today makes monitoring content easier than it was in the 1990s and expressing surprise at the debate over the legislation. “Your legislation does not, as suggested by the bill’s opponents, usher the end of the internet,” wrote Oracle senior vice president Kenneth Glueck. “If enacted, it will establish some measure of accountability for those that cynically sell advertising but are unprepared to help curtail sex trafficking.”

      The Internet Association, an internet industry lobbying group, initially lobbied against FOSTA-SESTA but backed off in September and then came out in support of the Senate bill, citing “important changes” made to the legislation. (It is worth noting it did so days after officials from Facebook, Google, and Twitter testified on Capitol Hill about Russian meddling in the 2016 election.)

      What’s next for Section 230 is up in the air

      There’s no question that Section 230 is one of the pillars of the open internet. Along with net neutrality, it helps level the playing field in tech by allowing new entrants to get into the market without huge barriers.

      Eroding Section 230 and increasing companies’ liabilities for content shared on their platforms by their users is likely to ding small players and new startups — not the mega companies such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter. They have billions of dollars, lobbyists, and extensive legal resources behind them.

      “Laws that require automated filtering of content and other types of moderation at scale might be something a giant platform could handle, but it could make it very difficult for a smaller competitor or startup to be successful,” Llanso, from the CDT, told me.

      I see a huge power grab here, by the usual suspects, but I don't see any religious involvement.

      Can you point to any church involvment, or are you merely expressing your long term hardon for anyone and everyone with religious beliefs?

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Monday June 18 2018, @02:31AM (5 children)

        by Thexalon (636) on Monday June 18 2018, @02:31AM (#694397)

        Can you point to any church involvment, or are you merely expressing your long term hardon for anyone and everyone with religious beliefs?

        1. The bill's Senate sponsor, Rob Portman of Ohio, made a big deal about support for the bill coming from faith-based organizations.
        2. Some of its biggest advocacy groups, such as Shared Hope International [sharedhope.org] and Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition [ffcoalition.com], are explicitly Christian organizations.

        I'm perfectly fine with religious beliefs existing. Heck, I have some religious beliefs myself. The problem here is that the religious beliefs in question are leading to government regulation that appears to stop casual sex (which harms basically nobody but is seen as a serious problem by Bible-thumpers) rather than actually stopping sex trafficking (which is a heinous crime that harms millions of people worldwide). And the bi-partisan set of legislators who overwhelmingly voted for it knew full well that's what was going on.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @02:51AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @02:51AM (#694400)

          The real problem is that this law is blatantly unconstitutional since it violates free speech rights. If our courts actually did their job - which I'm not entirely sure they will - they would throw this law out as soon as it's challenged.

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 18 2018, @04:15AM (2 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 18 2018, @04:15AM (#694423) Journal

          So, basically, we have a power grab, bipartisan in nature, and one of the righties points to support from a couple of Christian groups? Said Christian groups are more than balanced by corporate interests, right? And, who gains power - the Christian tools, or the corporate interests? I can see that a whole bunch of tools, religious or not, might be suckered in by "think of the children" arguments. But, don't blame Christians for being tools any more than you might blame ignorant lefties for being suckered in. Over and over, I see that support was bipartisan. Lefties and righties alike fell for the power grab.

          Bottom line, gubbermint is willing to ignore the constitution, because they like POWER. Prostitutes have traditionally been ready victims of those in power, and those in power have been terribly upset that prostitutes had the audacity to move up in the world. Religion doesn't really fit into the story.

          • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @09:59AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @09:59AM (#694461)

            Some of the biggest names in the U.S. entertainment industry have expressed a recent interest in a topic that’s seemingly far away from their core business: shutting down online prostitution. Disney, for instance, recently wrote to key U.S. senators expressing their support for SESTA, a bill that was originally aimed at sex traffickers. For its part, 20th Century Fox told the same senators that anyone doing business online “has a civic responsibility to help stem illicit and illegal activity.”

            https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/03/how-fosta-will-get-hollywood-filters-theyve-long-wanted [eff.org]

          • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday June 18 2018, @02:57PM

            by Thexalon (636) on Monday June 18 2018, @02:57PM (#694527)

            Part of the reasoning behind the power grab was "Are you in favor of this, or do you support sex trafficking?" The brave congresscritter that can stand up to that is rare.

            --
            The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @03:21PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @03:21PM (#694537)

          "Heck, I have some religious beliefs myself. "

          -
          -
          -

          In other words you are a dumb shit.

          You are immediately disqualified from all discussions.

          Do not breed, the world doesn't need any more proles like you.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @04:39PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18 2018, @04:39PM (#694574)

        In September, Oracle wrote a letter supporting FOSTA-SESTA, saying the state of technology today makes monitoring content easier than it was in the 1990s and expressing surprise at the debate over the legislation. “Your legislation does not, as suggested by the bill’s opponents, usher the end of the internet,” wrote Oracle senior vice president Kenneth Glueck. “If enacted, it will establish some measure of accountability for those that cynically sell advertising but are unprepared to help curtail sex trafficking.”

        someone should exterminate that sob

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:26PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:26PM (#694326)

    So the creepy bastasrd posting hopefully fake snuff fiction is really just ahead of the game and trying to get SN shut down under this law. It all makes sense now.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:47PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:47PM (#694330)

      What, is there an online sex trafficking market embedded in the comments?

      • (Score: 4, Funny) by BsAtHome on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:54PM (1 child)

        by BsAtHome (889) on Sunday June 17 2018, @07:54PM (#694333)

        You must read in between all the letters. The real information is hidden in plain sight. The WHITE pixels contain the real message!

        • (Score: 3, Touché) by MostCynical on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:35PM

          by MostCynical (2589) on Sunday June 17 2018, @09:35PM (#694352) Journal

          So the layout changes at /. where there was more whitespace, actually *increased* the amount of information on the site!

          --
          "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday June 18 2018, @12:01AM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Monday June 18 2018, @12:01AM (#694376)

      Got it in one! It was nice knowing everybody here while it lasted :-)

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 18 2018, @01:45AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 18 2018, @01:45AM (#694389) Journal

      That crossed my mind. It's a bit silly, but it crossed my mind. So, how might that affect a site like Soylent? Apparently, all the creepy bastard need do is to link to some disgusting photos, videos, and/or offers of illegal services. According to TFA, gubbermint would shut Soylent down, instead of chasing down the creepy bastard. Then, gubbermint would use our "failure" to log IP addresses to further "justify" shutting Soylent down.

      You've definitely got some food for thought there.

  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday June 17 2018, @08:16PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Sunday June 17 2018, @08:16PM (#694338) Journal

    So if i was to start talking about pizza and what kind of slice i want, they might shut down SN?

    WTF? What can and can't you talk about?

    Pepsi, pepsi, pepsi, cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger OH NO I DIDN'T!

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
  • (Score: 1) by Captival on Monday June 18 2018, @03:20AM (1 child)

    by Captival (6866) on Monday June 18 2018, @03:20AM (#694409)

    People used those websites that are now deleted. There were ratings and reviews and discussion. The johns protected themselves from muggings and pimps, and the prostitutes warned each other of violent or weirdo customers. That kept everybody safer, and now it's all gone thanks to a bunch of thoughtless meddlers that stick their nose into every aspect of our lives.

  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday June 18 2018, @12:20PM (1 child)

    A certain search query that will turn up vast quantities of kiddieporn links also include "inurl:viewtopic". There's on other "inurl" that works well to but all I remember just now is that it starts with an "s".

    What I very commonly find is that the pedos managed to find a long-forgotten PHP board that still works but whose owner never looks at it anymore.

    I propose in my article "Child Pornography on the Internet" that a straightforward way to track down such "regular web" and NOT dark web sites is to have a bot scout around for message board threads that go one for hundreds of pages.

    There are a few legitimate boards that have such long threads but not many; a quick visual inspection would determine the difference.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
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