Backpage? more like no page. CEO on the hot seat

[LarryLaffer]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...nap-story.html


Backpage CEO indicted for sex trafficking.


I guess it's a good thing Krypt swore off the hookers.....

[Dan Druff]

The owner doesn't look too unhappy about being arrested.




Anyway, I always wondered how backpage was able to get away with what they did. Simply calling the girls "escorts" didn't change what they were actually doing. I'm surprised this didn't happen way sooner.

The arrest apparently hasn't stopped backpage from still running its escorts section. I just tried it, and it's all still there. Here's a hooker I randomly clicked on in Los Angeles: http://losangeles.backpage.com/Femal...0t-0t/76390651

I also never understood how Craigslist got away with claiming that they removed prostitution from their service. No, they didn't. "Casual encounters" is 100% hookers. And obvious codes such as "Bring 400 roses as a tribute" aren't fooling anyone. Doesn't matter if they're not calling it escorts anymore. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

[Dan Druff]

Oh, and don't forget this: http://pokerfraudalert.com/forum/sho...FA-radio-phone

[sonatine]

It's in the process of being shut down apparently.

[Tegnation22]

Here's a hooker I randomly clicked on in Los Angeles: http://losangeles.backpage.com/Femal...0t-0t/76390651..

Apparently she doesn't want black men, she made that clear.

Id pay a good sum of $$$ to pipe down on that little booty.

[WillieMcFML]

never forget

[BiffCo99]

The owner doesn't look too unhappy about being arrested.




Anyway, I always wondered how backpage was able to get away with what they did. Simply calling the girls "escorts" didn't change what they were actually doing. I'm surprised this didn't happen way sooner.

The arrest apparently hasn't stopped backpage from still running its escorts section. I just tried it, and it's all still there. Here's a hooker I randomly clicked on in Los Angeles: http://losangeles.backpage.com/Femal...0t-0t/76390651

I also never understood how Craigslist got away with claiming that they removed prostitution from their service. No, they didn't. "Casual encounters" is 100% hookers. And obvious codes such as "Bring 400 roses as a tribute" aren't fooling anyone. Doesn't matter if they're not calling it escorts anymore. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

That's probably his drivers license photo not a mugshot. Any head shot with a light blue background is almost always a drivers license photo.

[LarryLaffer]

The owner doesn't look too unhappy about being arrested.




Anyway, I always wondered how backpage was able to get away with what they did. Simply calling the girls "escorts" didn't change what they were actually doing. I'm surprised this didn't happen way sooner.

The arrest apparently hasn't stopped backpage from still running its escorts section. I just tried it, and it's all still there. Here's a hooker I randomly clicked on in Los Angeles: http://losangeles.backpage.com/Femal...0t-0t/76390651

I also never understood how Craigslist got away with claiming that they removed prostitution from their service. No, they didn't. "Casual encounters" is 100% hookers. And obvious codes such as "Bring 400 roses as a tribute" aren't fooling anyone. Doesn't matter if they're not calling it escorts anymore. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

That's probably his drivers license photo not a mugshot. Any head shot with a light blue background is almost always a drivers license photo.

I will concur with this one. I've obvs had several taken. It's funny bc now when i see one in chicago I can tell wether they were in the county jail or a police district hq. The county jail wall is very distinguishable

[Shizzmoney]

The guy was in Amsterdam....why in the ever loving hell would he try to come back to the US?

Pro-tip: if you are running a website that deals with an illegal activity, it's best to do so OUTSIDE the United States (see: Micon).

[Muck Ficon]

One woman said she made up to $1,000 a day, often buying her ads with Bitcoin purchased with Amazon.com gift cards.

[sonatine]

The guy was in Amsterdam....why in the ever loving hell would he try to come back to the US?

Pro-tip: if you are running a website that deals with an illegal activity, it's best to do so OUTSIDE the United States (see: Micon).

although the company is dutch and registered as an LLC out of delaware, the offices are ran out of houston.

so yeah this guy had some sort of legal deathwish.

also hilarious is watching the media try to spin this like a couple of million a year in profit makes this some sort of massive white child sex slavery empire.


news flash: 2 million a year gets you about 7 qualified full time engineers after taxes and operating expenses.

[ftpjesus]

The guy was in Amsterdam....why in the ever loving hell would he try to come back to the US?

Pro-tip: if you are running a website that deals with an illegal activity, it's best to do so OUTSIDE the United States (see: Micon).

although the company is dutch and registered as an LLC out of delaware, the offices are ran out of houston.

so yeah this guy had some sort of legal deathwish.

also hilarious is watching the media try to spin this like a couple of million a year in profit makes this some sort of massive white child sex slavery empire.


news flash: 2 million a year gets you about 7 qualified full time engineers after taxes and operating expenses.

[Shizzmoney]

backpage escort section is donkdown as of today:

http://www.backpage.com/classifieds/Media

[LarryLaffer]

what a statement.

Washington, D.C. - As the direct result of unconstitutional government censorship, Backpage.com has removed its Adult content section from the highly popular classified website, effective immediately. For years, the legal system protecting freedom of speech prevailed, but new government tactics, including pressuring credit card companies to cease doing business with Backpage, have left the company with no other choice but to remove the content in the United States.

As federal appeals court Judge Richard Posner has described, the goal is either to “suffocate” Backpage out of existence or use the awesome powers of the government to force Backpage to follow in the footsteps of Craigslist and abandon its Adult advertising section. Judge Posner described such tactics as “a formula for permitting unauthorized, unregulated, foolproof, lawless government coercion.”

“It's a sad day for America's children victimized by prostitution,” said Dr. Lois Lee, Founder and President, Children of the Night, a leading national hotline and shelter program for victims of sex trafficking based in Los Angeles. “Backpage.com was a critical investigative tool depended on by America's vice detectives and agents in the field to locate and recover missing children and to arrest and successfully prosecute the pimps who prostitute children.” She added, “The ability to search for and track potentially exploited children on a website and have the website bend over backwards to help and cooperate with police the way Backpage did was totally unique. It not only made law enforcement's job easier, it made them much more effective at rescuing kids and convicting pimps.”

Backpage.com was created thirteen years ago by Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey, through their newspaper company, New Times Media, to compete with Craigslist, the nation’s largest online classified ad platform. Larkin and Lacey were pioneers in independent journalism, establishing Village Voice Media in 1970 to provide alternative news coverage of the Vietnam war and later served as editor and publisher of twenty weekly newspapers.

As The Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have observed, the Senate subcommittee has engaged in an “invasive, burdensome inquiry into Backpage.com’s editorial practices [that] creates an intense chilling effect, not only for Backpage but for any website operator seeking to define their own editorial viewpoint and moderation procedures for the third-party content they host.”

This will not end the fight for online freedom of speech. Backpage.com will continue to pursue its efforts in court to vindicate its First Amendment rights and those of other online platforms for third party expression.

LOL freedom of speech argument.

[Dan Druff]

what a statement.

Washington, D.C. - As the direct result of unconstitutional government censorship, Backpage.com has removed its Adult content section from the highly popular classified website, effective immediately. For years, the legal system protecting freedom of speech prevailed, but new government tactics, including pressuring credit card companies to cease doing business with Backpage, have left the company with no other choice but to remove the content in the United States.

As federal appeals court Judge Richard Posner has described, the goal is either to “suffocate” Backpage out of existence or use the awesome powers of the government to force Backpage to follow in the footsteps of Craigslist and abandon its Adult advertising section. Judge Posner described such tactics as “a formula for permitting unauthorized, unregulated, foolproof, lawless government coercion.”

“It's a sad day for America's children victimized by prostitution,” said Dr. Lois Lee, Founder and President, Children of the Night, a leading national hotline and shelter program for victims of sex trafficking based in Los Angeles. “Backpage.com was a critical investigative tool depended on by America's vice detectives and agents in the field to locate and recover missing children and to arrest and successfully prosecute the pimps who prostitute children.” She added, “The ability to search for and track potentially exploited children on a website and have the website bend over backwards to help and cooperate with police the way Backpage did was totally unique. It not only made law enforcement's job easier, it made them much more effective at rescuing kids and convicting pimps.”

Backpage.com was created thirteen years ago by Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey, through their newspaper company, New Times Media, to compete with Craigslist, the nation’s largest online classified ad platform. Larkin and Lacey were pioneers in independent journalism, establishing Village Voice Media in 1970 to provide alternative news coverage of the Vietnam war and later served as editor and publisher of twenty weekly newspapers.

As The Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have observed, the Senate subcommittee has engaged in an “invasive, burdensome inquiry into Backpage.com’s editorial practices [that] creates an intense chilling effect, not only for Backpage but for any website operator seeking to define their own editorial viewpoint and moderation procedures for the third-party content they host.”

This will not end the fight for online freedom of speech. Backpage.com will continue to pursue its efforts in court to vindicate its First Amendment rights and those of other online platforms for third party expression.

LOL freedom of speech argument.

Not sure which is a worse argument above: Censorship of free speech, or that a supposedly important law enforcement tool has been removed.

As if backpage was doing more to prevent minors from being exploited than contributing to it.

[ftpjesus]

Ironic them trying to make a statement meanwhile the escorts are all posting in women seeking men dating section on BP and the bodyrubs from adult section are now posting in a section for 'massage' roflmao.. Whole lot of NOTHING

[Shizzmoney]

Backpage finally gets the online poker USG banhammer treatment:



Also the Erotic Review:

[The_Lurker]

Poor Krypt is never going to get laid again.

thoughts and prayers

[big dick]

lol @ the guns and the big dick on the guy

[ErickAA]

So I guess this means there is gonna be a lot more Mexican guys on the LV strip handing out fliers.

I wonder what % of Congressman that signed this law actively solicit prostitutes. I am going to guess north of 50%. I guess they feel they should be the only ones that get to do so and the rest of us are SOL.