CEO of Backpage arrested for Pimping

[runningdownthatdream]

To the idiots advocating for Backpage to be policed or taken down outright: get a grip on reality. Should telephone poles and bus shelters be taken down too because they serve the same purpose as Backpage - for the idiots that means IT'S A DIGITAL BULLETIN BOARD. How come no-one is going after the Twitter and Facebook CEOs whose platforms are being used by extremists to spread their message and recruit murderers?

[lifeisfiction]

No website can fully stop and prevent every act of human trafficking. They have to diligent to prevent it. They also rely on the input of those who use it to report it as well. There is no magic thing Eros does to prevent it. People setup fake accounts with false pictures providing false information about themselves. I had to go look back and find the article I remember where they were looking at Eros and Backpage in response to human trafficking: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...107005068.html. Eros, Myredbook, TER and other related websites being are targeted. Why? Because they made prostitution easier for people to engage in and society doesn't want that at all. The crazy part is that Craig's List still has ads on them, but not at the high rate it did before and with no "dedicated" section people don't care as much about it.

Someone was saying that Backpage was processing their money in what appears to be another country that is, because Visa had denied to process the fees for ads at a request of a Texas sheriff, but the courts overturned it: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...ight/91467380/.

The world is looking to combat human trafficking, which is good. WIth the major Thai ring busted, http://www.ibtimes.sg/us-investigato...hai-women-3743 which spanned the globe. Countries have become to change in attitudes in general and believe all prostitution is problematic. Even Thailand is looking to change it's sex tourism image http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...st-female-tou/ and here is another article for further insight http://www.refinery29.uk/2016/09/123...land-sex-trade.

I am not trying to belittle the efforts to be made about human trafficking and I am glad what they have done to stop it. The real problem is that they want to completely eradicate prostitution online. They try and find a few acts to label the whole thing as evil. They continue to act as if these sites are trying to promote human trafficking. The crazier part they have their own system that does not rely on these websites. Still people believe it be true that these sites account for most of the online human trafficking.

[bigkid69]

Legalize prostitution, plain and simple.

[notdrunk]

So backpage is responsible for this? I think not. Bigkid got it right when he wrote.
"So should we hold Ford Motor Company liable for a small percentage of people who drive drunk and kill people in their cars?"
And to use his analogy. Tesla makes a car that goes 0-60 in 2.7 seconds and I have a bike that goes 0-60 in 3 seconds. So if someone who owns a Tesla or Honda and kills someone because they can't handle the car or bike, is the manufacturer at fault? Absolutely not. The crinals are at fault and they are the ones who need to be prosecuted. If we start to hold a maker of a certain product responsible for what others use the product for, that opens up a door for lawsuits and criminal prosecutions. And even worse, from what I read Carl Ferrer was charged with pimping minors as though he is the one who put the ads up. If they want to force backpage to make a more stringent screening process, I might be ok with that. But to charge him with the actual crime is just ridiculous. With charges like that, there would be a lot of ceo's in prison. Oh, but wait. Maybe that's not such a bad idea. Lol.

That is a straw man argument. Prostitution is illegal in most of the United States. People are allowed to post prostitution ads on Backpage. Law enforcement agencies have repeatedly discovered through those ads that some of the prostitutes are minors or individuals forced into prostitution. Backpage was making money off those ads until last year. Therefore, he is facing pimping charges because he made money from those ads.

End of story.

[bigkid69]

That is a straw man argument. Prostitution is illegal in most of the United States. People are allowed to post prostitution ads on Backpage. Law enforcement agencies have repeatedly discovered through those ads that some of the prostitutes are minors or individuals forced into prostitution. Backpage was making money off those ads until last year. Therefore, he is facing pimping charges because he made money from those ads.

End of story.

But it's not the end of the story. If it were the case, then every person who works for backpage should be arrested because by your argument, they made money from those ads as well.

You can't stop assholes in all segments of a free society from abusing things that have perfectly legitimate purposes by making those people who provide those services and make those things criminals. From drugs, cars, guns, porn, explosives and even electronic bulletin boards (the list is endless), all of these things have legitimate purposes, and unfortunately there are dicks in this world who exploit them. It is a slippery slope to do what California and Texas is doing, and I for one don't want to travel down it. Because what and who is next?

Can backpage do a better job of screening, absolutely it can and it should. But I will bet that criminals will find a way to get around whatever system is put in place.

[Post Op Preferred]

Folks, I think we need to report HA to the Texas AG. I found a link to BP right here.

http://www.hungangels.com/vboard/sho...ton-7815042790

Everybody, go call a lawyer.

But it's not the end of the story. If it were the case, then every person who works for backpage should be arrested because by your argument, they made money from those ads as well.

You can't stop assholes in all segments of a free society from abusing things that have perfectly legitimate purposes by making those people who provide those services and make those things criminals. From drugs, cars, guns, porn, explosives and even electronic bulletin boards (the list is endless), all of these things have legitimate purposes, and unfortunately there are dicks in this world who exploit them. It is a slippery slope to do what California and Texas is doing, and I for one don't want to travel down it. Because what and who is next?

Can backpage do a better job of screening, absolutely it can and it should. But I will bet that criminals will find a way to get around whatever system is put in place.

[gaysian71]

Folks, I think we need to report HA to the Texas AG. I found a link to BP right here.

http://www.hungangels.com/vboard/sho...ton-7815042790

Everybody, go call a lawyer.

God damn it. We are all going to prison. Thank god at least the pimps who are pimping these under age girls are free to continue practicing their trade. I'll see the rest of you in prison.

[gaysian71]

That is a straw man argument. Prostitution is illegal in most of the United States. People are allowed to post prostitution ads on Backpage. Law enforcement agencies have repeatedly discovered through those ads that some of the prostitutes are minors or individuals forced into prostitution. Backpage was making money off those ads until last year. Therefore, he is facing pimping charges because he made money from those ads.

End of story.

You don't really get it, so I'll explain it in a more simple fashion. If a product provides a vehicle for someone to commit a crime, the company who creates the product did not commit the crime.I could go on, but that would only confuse the point I'm making.

[runningdownthatdream]

That is a straw man argument. Prostitution is illegal in most of the United States. People are allowed to post prostitution ads on Backpage. Law enforcement agencies have repeatedly discovered through those ads that some of the prostitutes are minors or individuals forced into prostitution. Backpage was making money off those ads until last year. Therefore, he is facing pimping charges because he made money from those ads.

End of story.

You tell 'em champ! Backpage is just a start.......soon the hotel owners will be hauled in before judges too for allowing paid sex to take place in their rooms, and cell phone manufacturers for facilitating 'illegal' conversations, and maybe even the US Treasury for enabling 'illegal' transactions to be paid for using cash. You've really hit on something here. All these goddamn strawman arguments have been nothing but distractions.

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Are you drunk?

[notdrunk]

You don't really get it, so I'll explain it in a more simple fashion. If a product provides a vehicle for someone to commit a crime, the company who creates the product did not commit the crime.I could go on, but that would only confuse the point I'm making.

No, you are just using a straw man argument. A vehicle itself isn't illegal. Prostitution is illegal. Backpage created sections on their website for an illegal activity. They made money off those sections.