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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: 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]