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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: 5, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Saturday April 07 2018, @07:43PM (5 children)
Plumbing comes with significantly increased risk of STDs and many non-STD diseases; steelworker comes with risks of falling off buildings; martial arts and football (to name only two) come with risks of brain damage and all manner of other serious injuries; etc., etc., etc. We use regulation and education to improve the level of informed consent in all of these pursuits. We don't do it with sex-as-a-service because the legislators and a fair number of their constituents are addled.
Plumber is a particularly good example. People are willing to pay someone to dig through their shit-clogged toilets. But if risk is the excuse, they think that paying someone to fiddle with their junk or perhaps exchange (lower) body fluids is so much worse that they make it illegal. But then again if you're not paying, it's fine. Do you really think risk is a serious player in the reasoning here?
When we start telling people what risks they can choose to take strictly on the basis of our knowledge that there are risks, we're screwing up. Badly.
What we should be doing is trying to make as sure as possible that people are informed of risk so that they are making as-informed-as-practical choices, while seeing to it that they are not forced into the underground, unregulated, and far-more-dangerous economy for making those choices.
When we start forcing our taboos on other people, we're screwing up. There should be no right "not to be offended." I am incredibly offended when people inculcate their children with superstition. Should I be able to force them to not do so because it offends me? Of course not. They're your kids. You should be free to raise them the way you see fit, just as I am and do (did.)
Selling people's bodies without their informed consent is a problem, and (obviously) should not be permitted, and should be punished harshly. But, back to plumbers, the person running the plumbing business sells "their" plumber's (meaning, those plumbers that person employs) services with their informed consent. They'll come right to the privacy of your home and dig right through your shit, and you'll pay through the nose for this type of risky service, just as you should. This is perfectly okay; and it should be okay. Likewise, if someone who is in a state of informed consent has their services sold to come to your home and meddle with your sacred little pee-pee, it should be perfectly fine.
If prostitution were licensed and regulated (as it bloody well should be), then this would not be an issue at all. We would have above board licensed services to select from and those people would be highly unlikely to be under any form of duress any worse than anyone else who has to work to eat. The fact that it is illegal and has to operate below the surface of legality is what makes this a problem.
(Score: 4, Informative) by edIII on Saturday April 07 2018, @08:15PM (3 children)
If you want to see a licensed and regulated place in action, look no further than Pahrump, Nevada. There is reason why prostitution is relatively hard to find in Las Vegas, and certainly doesn't pay as well as the licensed and regulated places. Pahrump is like a 30 minute ride away from Las Vegas in a shuttle, which companies are operating.
There's a whole show on HBO about how the place works. If we were really interested in learning about that environment, we have one to study.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 07 2018, @11:57PM (2 children)
The Wiki page on Nevada prostitution [wikipedia.org] seems to contradict what you're saying. I'm not sure what their methodology is for measuring a black market is; but illegal prostitution seems to be doing most of the business. It just makes common sense--if you're staying in Vegas are you going to cart your ass all the way out to the middle of no where, or are you going to suss out hookers *right there*. Also, it looks like the working conditions in the brothels are pretty draconian. From the hooker's PoV, hanging out in bars, doing "massage", etc. in Vegas and being independent is probably worth the risk vs. being caged up in one of those isolated sex shops.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Sunday April 08 2018, @01:23AM (1 child)
Nevada doesn't have prostitution. The boonies have prostitution, leaving the black market to the actual market, the cities.
Exactly.
It's a half-assed, dumb-shit way to go about it, and of course it doesn't work well.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday April 08 2018, @04:00AM
Whether to permit prostitution is left up to the counties.
Mustang Ranch was the first mostly-legal brothel. All the "buildings" were trailers. The Ranch was located near the borders of three different counties, so as its legality came and went they could just redomicile to a different county.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 08 2018, @06:36PM
Writing software comes with the risk of increased likelihood of heart-failure, obesity, hair-loss and arthritis.