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FBI Seizes backpage.com and Affiliates

posted by martyb on Saturday April 07 2018, @04:13PM   Printer-friendly
from the Taking-a-si-SESTA dept.

Booga1 writes:

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

takyon writes:

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.

Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 07 2018, @07:45PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 07 2018, @07:45PM (#663783)

    Most other jobs don't come with the risk of STIs and pregnancy that prostitution does.

    There are many legal jobs that involve a decently-high risk of death even after safety measures are implemented.

    If you can't conceive of there being real social problems that come from prostitution that don't come from other jobs, then you're a great fool.

    The social problems mainly stem from bigotry and irrationality. If prostitution were legal and regulated, many of these issues could be greatly reduced. This is what authoritarian fools don't seem to comprehend.

    Most jobs that people do is an exchange of _time_ for money

    And your body as well. You're not the one who decides what to do with that time. You have to complete specific tasks dictated by others. This involves using your body. But it doesn't matter because no sex is involved.

    when it comes to prostitution, it's more of an exchange of _body_ for money which is uncomfortably close to slavery and indentured servitude for most people.

    It can be indentured servitude or slavery if someone is forced to be a prostitute. Otherwise, no it's not. You don't get to call it those things just because sex is involved.

    But, the biggest issue is just how challenging it is to tell the difference between a prostitute that's voluntarily working as a prostitute and somebody that's a sex slave.

    That's once again mainly only an issue because it's illegal.

    We already have tons of problems figuring out which employers are breaking the employment laws we have due to the employees having to take massive risks when complaining.

    It's still less of a risk than having those jobs be on a black market where problems are solved with violence. I hope you don't fall victim to a nirvana fallacy.

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