CEO of Backpage arrested for Pimping

[Nikka]

shit is getting real DAAAAAAAAAMNNN

http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/06/news/backpage-ceo-carl-ferrer-arrest/index.html

[SanDiegoPervySage]

About time

[holzz]

doesn't surprise me.

[Nikka]

http://i.imgur.com/jWdiF.gif

[lifeisfiction]

They wanted Backpage to take down along time. They did everything they could shutdown the sex advertisement section. I don't buy the claim that Backpage was aware of child trafficking. It doesn't matter, they got rid of Craig's List advertising and limited to nothing. They got rid of escorts.com. If they get rid of Backpage then next two big websites of their list is Eros and The Erotic Review. They used the claim of the child trafficking to garner enough attention to shutdown the site. It doesn't matter advertising sex online will get far more difficult.

[holzz]

fuck social justice warriors. that said eros does vet, i doubt backpage does as much vetting. and to be fair, human trafficking is a big issue.

[notdrunk]

They wanted Backpage to take down along time. They did everything they could shutdown the sex advertisement section. I don't buy the claim that Backpage was aware of child trafficking. It doesn't matter, they got rid of Craig's List advertising and limited to nothing. They got rid of escorts.com. If they get rid of Backpage then next two big websites of their list is Eros and The Erotic Review. They used the claim of the child trafficking to garner enough attention to shutdown the site. It doesn't matter advertising sex online will get far more difficult.


They knew because you can find online news articles about traffickers using backpage to sell minors.

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Human-Trafficking-Arrests-in-Tallahassee---260846241.html
http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20150604/NEWS/150609749

[bigkid69]

So should we hold Ford Motor Company liable for a small percentage of people who drive drunk and kill people in their cars?

[blackchubby38]

So should we hold Ford Motor Company liable for a small percentage of people who drive drunk and kill people in their cars?

I think a better analogy would be would you arrest the CEO of the drug companies who manufacture oxycontin given that drug's link to the heroin epidemic in this country.

I'm not naive in thinking that child trafficking is/was taking place on Backpages. But going after the easy target is not going to solve the problem.

[holzz]

So should we hold Ford Motor Company liable for a small percentage of people who drive drunk and kill people in their cars?

learn better analogies....i don't think Ford or toyota or whoever are morally/legally responsible for that.

[txjr3]

Utter bullshit from the asshole AG in Texas. Purely a move to appeal to his super conservative bombs & jesus crowd base.

[bigkid69]

learn better analogies....i don't think Ford or toyota or whoever are morally/legally responsible for that.

Neither do I. I also don't think the CEO of Backpage is morally/legally responsible for human trafficking. The situation is absurd so who cares what kind of analogy was used, the point came across.

[bigkid69]

Utter bullshit from the asshole AG in Texas. Purely a move to appeal to his super conservative bombs & jesus crowd base.

He was arrested in Texas but the warrant for human trafficking was out of California. Texas has a warrant on him for money laundering.

The moral police knows no party affiliation.

[Post Op Preferred]

the feminazi's and the social conservatives are strange bedfellows in this suppression of free speech and association. The Backpage business model will move offshore (the internet knows no boundaries) and the net effect will be more rather than less child trafficking, because the offshore entity will have no incentive to cooperate with requests for take downs of child trafficking ads. Backpage did, and look what good it did them.
Like all wars fought against the vagaries of human frailties, from prohibition to the war on drugs, the unintended consequences will be a greater burden to humanity than the original sin.

[TSBootyLondon]

Backpage do NOT vet at all when using their services to promote ANYONE here in the UK unlike Eros who are rigid with their processes regarding certification and validation for each escort you want to feature with them!
There is no customer services in place that is visible, email correspondences and complaints are ignored! I would LOVE to know how many people work for the company in total worldwide, and if you said under 30 I would not be shocked!

One thing that I noticed a few months ago once the online payment system was reinstated Backpages use multiple bank accounts, I became aware of this personally when my bank kept asking me to confirm each transaction over a period, they informed me that I had sent money to 5 different banks located in China! - this was confirmed on my statement

Re Trafficking - I can't understand how Backpage could be held accountable for unknowingly advertising such unforgivable crimes however the stipulations of the law alter depending on the country that the services is provided! difficult especially as the site dominates Google world wide in the escorting industry!… quite allot of red tape and sounds like an expensive drawn out case ahead!

I personally hope that it is taken down OR strict policies are put in place because the thought of anyone being forced child, man, woman or beast is unthinkable! x

fuck social justice warriors. that said eros does vet, i doubt backpage does as much vetting. and to be fair, human trafficking is a big issue.

[gaysian71]

Funny how they went for the ceo of backpage to solve child prostitution or human trafficking or whatever the fuck they want to call it. If they actually had proof of child prostitution, they would have busted the pimps who are pushing sex with children. But the fact of thetater is that they have absolutely no proof. Nothing, nada zip. They just want the dumb ignorant public to make it look like they are taking action. It's soooooooo easy to find and arrest someone who is a ceo of a legitimate business than it is to find a pimp of children who is totally anonymous and hides in the darkness. But hey, I guess they just don't have the ability to properly run a law enforcement agency. That's the real crime here. And if anyone here can't see that, then you are totally blind and oblivious.

[TSBootyLondon]

Here is a good report

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/10/06/backpage-ceo-arrested-on-sex-trafficking-charges.html
So Harris is running in an election next month?

I don't know much about US laws but here in the UK having read this article and look at the current ads posted 95% of ads are beyond the boundaries!
Is backpage to blame….. well thats the beauty of red tape!, Backpage blocked a request to disclose how they vet because they do not vet!

The law is the law - regardless of who believes in it or agrees with it!

[CoolAwesomeBXDude]

well if backpage does get shut down, the good news will be the fact that people will save some money

and more importantly more people will be saved from the scammer posts and thieves

[notdrunk]

Funny how they went for the ceo of backpage to solve child prostitution or human trafficking or whatever the fuck they want to call it. If they actually had proof of child prostitution, they would have busted the pimps who are pushing sex with children. But the fact of thetater is that they have absolutely no proof. Nothing, nada zip. They just want the dumb ignorant public to make it look like they are taking action. It's soooooooo easy to find and arrest someone who is a ceo of a legitimate business than it is to find a pimp of children who is totally anonymous and hides in the darkness. But hey, I guess they just don't have the ability to properly run a law enforcement agency. That's the real crime here. And if anyone here can't see that, then you are totally blind and oblivious.

What are you talking about? It is a known fact that minors are pimped out on Backpage. I already pointed out two stories in which individuals were arrested for pimping out minors on Backpage. It is an issue with Backpage. Do you see minors on Eros? No. Why is that? Here is another story about Backpage:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-area-man-accused-of-prostituting-teens-on-backpage/article_e144b4dc-e46f-5bdc-af9c-0d1da236206f.html

Another one: http://www.sanjoseinside.com/2016/02/05/woman-accused-of-sex-trafficking-teen-girl-in-milpitas/

I hope you are noticing a trend. Backpage failed to truly monitor their website and allowed child prostitution ads to be posted on it. In the end, it is Backpage fault for being targeted.

[gaysian71]

What are you talking about? It is a known fact that minors are pimped out on Backpage. I already pointed out two stories in which individuals were arrested for pimping out minors on Backpage. It is an issue with Backpage. Do you see minors on Eros? No. Why is that? Here is another story about Backpage:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-area-man-accused-of-prostituting-teens-on-backpage/article_e144b4dc-e46f-5bdc-af9c-0d1da236206f.html

Another one: http://www.sanjoseinside.com/2016/02/05/woman-accused-of-sex-trafficking-teen-girl-in-milpitas/

I hope you are noticing a trend. Backpage failed to truly monitor their website and allowed child prostitution ads to be posted on it. In the end, it is Backpage fault for being targeted.

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.

[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/local/Police-Go-Online-to-Fight-Human-Trafficking-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/2016/10/03/supreme-court-declines-sheriffs-appeal-backpage-sex-ads-fight/91467380/.

The world is looking to combat human trafficking, which is good. WIth the major Thai ring busted, http://www.ibtimes.sg/us-investigators-bust-prostitution-ring-that-enslaved-hundreds-thai-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/2016/07/17/thailand-is-closed-to-sex-tourism-says-countrys-first-female-tou/ and here is another article for further insight http://www.refinery29.uk/2016/09/123967/thailand-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/showthread.php?100412-ts-caramel-boston-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/showthread.php?100412-ts-caramel-boston-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.

.
.
.

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.

[gaysian71]

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.

Go get em tiger. Bust em all. But in case you haven't noticed prostitution is here. It always has been and it always will be. Like marijuana, it's time to legalize it.

[notdrunk]

Go get em tiger. Bust em all. But in case you haven't noticed prostitution is here. It always has been and it always will be. Like marijuana, it's time to legalize it.

Child prostitution and sex trafficking ftw! Or, not.

[TSBootyLondon]

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?

Do you know (Nothing to do with back page) I reported a video a few weeks ago to Facebook which was over 9 minutes long (I didn't watch it all) where an oriental woman beat a child of about 7 with a sweeping brush repeatedly, it was horrific to watch, evident that the child was in dire peril…

They responded saying - thank yo, we have reviewed it and it does not go against our policies, we are keeping it on the site (Obviously they used more professional jargon than that)

Then another where a dog was thrown from a high story building in somewhere that looked like India, they showed the dogs legs broken… I reported that and they came back with more or less the same bullshit response! - I think a sick twisted sadistic bastard is holed up in a broom cupboard reviewing complaints

[gaysian71]

Child prostitution and sex trafficking ftw! Or, not.

Ftw WOOOOOOOO!
Or we can just shutdown the Internet. That will solve all problems.

[Nikka]

Ftw WOOOOOOOO!
Or we can just shutdown the Internet. That will solve all problems.

that wud be great, chaos generates Money $$$

[bigkid69]

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.

Yup, prostitution is illegal but escorting is not. Sure, we all know what an escort is but legally you can advertise a fee "for the escort's time". Backpage created sections on their website for a completely legal activity, what happens behind closed doors is between consenting adults. Which brings us to those two words "consenting" and "adults". If assholes use a completely legal avenue provided by backpage for human trafficking of adults and worse yet, children, how is the CEO of backpage responsible?

[bigkid69]

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/showthread.php?100412-ts-caramel-boston-7815042790

Everybody, go call a lawyer.


We should be alright but it's not looking good for Steven.

[bluesoul]

So should we hold Ford Motor Company liable for a small percentage of people who drive drunk and kill people in their cars?

i don't get what you're saying- or trying to say

[bluesoul]

Funny how they went for the ceo of backpage to solve child prostitution or human trafficking or whatever the fuck they want to call it. If they actually had proof of child prostitution, they would have busted the pimps who are pushing sex with children. But the fact of thetater is that they have absolutely no proof. Nothing, nada zip. They just want the dumb ignorant public to make it look like they are taking action. It's soooooooo easy to find and arrest someone who is a ceo of a legitimate business than it is to find a pimp of children who is totally anonymous and hides in the darkness. But hey, I guess they just don't have the ability to properly run a law enforcement agency. That's the real crime here. And if anyone here can't see that, then you are totally blind and oblivious.

lol

i dont think i've ever read anything more wrong in my life.

[nysprod]

Funny how they went for the ceo of backpage to solve child prostitution or human trafficking or whatever the fuck they want to call it. If they actually had proof of child prostitution, they would have busted the pimps who are pushing sex with children. But the fact of thetater is that they have absolutely no proof. Nothing, nada zip. They just want the dumb ignorant public to make it look like they are taking action. It's soooooooo easy to find and arrest someone who is a ceo of a legitimate business than it is to find a pimp of children who is totally anonymous and hides in the darkness. But hey, I guess they just don't have the ability to properly run a law enforcement agency. That's the real crime here. And if anyone here can't see that, then you are totally blind and oblivious.


lol

i dont think i've ever read anything more wrong in my life.

I think GA has an excellent point as it's really the pimps who've committed the crimes...but the reality is that a case against backpage will garner far more publicity, which is very advantageous to a prosecutor running for re-election.

Even when the likelihood of losing a case is higher than winning it.

[dreamon]

Here is a good report

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/10/06/backpage-ceo-arrested-on-sex-trafficking-charges.html
So Harris is running in an election next month?

I don't know much about US laws but here in the UK having read this article and look at the current ads posted 95% of ads are beyond the boundaries!
Is backpage to blame….. well thats the beauty of red tape!, Backpage blocked a request to disclose how they vet because they do not vet!

The law is the law - regardless of who believes in it or agrees with it!

Yes. Unfortunately she will likely be our next Senator.

[gaysian71]

lol

i dont think i've ever read anything more wrong in my life.

Look, I get it. Child prostitution is a bad thing. Very bad. But a case like this would set a very bad precedence. If the ceo of backpage is convicted of this crime, it will be used against other ceo's or owners of other business if the product they provide aids a criminal in a crime. And to convict someone of a crime someone else committed would be fucked up. And the worst part is that the criminals who actually committed the crime would probably be home laughing.

Why not just find the pimp and shoot him in the motherfucking face? I'll tell you why. It's too much work for law enforcement. It's much easier to shoot at fish in a barrel than it is to catch one out in the ocean.

Think about it.

Oh, and I almost forgot to say. If I had a daughter and found out she was being pimped. I would shoot the pimp in the mother fucking face. And no one would ever find him.

[blackchubby38]

I think its safe to say in one shape or form we have all visited backpages at some time in our life. Okay maybe like 15 minutes ago. There are a lot of reputable providers from all parts of the sex industry who advertise there. So they and the clients who are not engaging in sex with minors or those being held against their will should not be penalized because of the few who are using it for nefarious reasons.

While Backpages does need to do a better job of screening, its not going to put an end to human trafficking and/or prostitution for that matter. Just like the war on drugs, law enforcement and government officials need to start taking a hard look at some of their tactics and maybe realize the ones they have been using for past 50 or so years are the reason why they have been losing both of them.

[bluesoul]

Why not just find the pimp and shoot him in the motherfucking face? I'll tell you why. It's too much work for law enforcement. It's much easier to shoot at fish in a barrel than it is to catch one out in the ocean.

Think about it.


there is nothing to think about.

pimps are indispensable. ceos are not.

so shooting a pimp "in the motherfucking face" means nothing, except that a new pimp can now move into his tuff.

[crystalsopen]

... and to be fair, human trafficking is a big issue.
Human trafficking for sex, in the US, is greatly exaggerated. Some people claim that 75-80% of trafficking is sex related, but that's bullshit. The percentage of the number victims actually found in the US is OVER 70% NON-sex-work human trafficking. (https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/GLOTIP14_Country_profiles_NAmerica_CAmerica_Caribb ean.pdf) There is a huge trend for law enforcement to label arrests as human trafficking for example: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/texas-cops-brag-about-jailing-adults-for-consensual-sex-and-smear-them-on-facebook/. If you read more than just the headlines on these human trafficking arrests, most of them aren't sex work or aren't being trafficked at all. For example the sex trafficking victim that spoke at the DNC, previously said she wasn't a sex trafficking victim, but a labor trafficking victim. (http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/sex-trafficking-survivor-at-democratic-convention-not-really-a-victim-of-sex-trafficking)

[bigkid69]

I think GA has an excellent point as it's really the pimps who've committed the crimes...but the reality is that a case against backpage will garner far more publicity, which is very advantageous to a prosecutor running for re-election.

Even when the likelihood of losing a case is higher than winning it.

This is exactly what is going on here! Elected officials want to show they are doing something about the problem. What better way to do it then a flashy arrest of a CEO? They don't care that it will likely be thrown out of court, because that would probably happen after the election.

[chupapau]

Why not just find the pimp and shoot him in the motherfucking face? I'll tell you why. It's too much work for law enforcement. It's much easier to shoot at fish in a barrel than it is to catch one out in the ocean.

Think about it.

Oh, and I almost forgot to say. If I had a daughter and found out she was being pimped. I would shoot the pimp in the mother fucking face. And no one would ever find him.

If you had a daughter and had to find out she was being pimped... it would be clear proof to me that you weren't worthy of being a parent in the first place. Putting up a big mouth and waving guns wouldn't diminish your own guilt.

Did you know that statistically most plain gg hookers do it because it was something they grew up in? Like their family was in the work too? And if those leave Honduras or Guatemala to give it a go in the States, isn't it damn convenient they can blame someone else for trafficking?

[blackchubby38]

Update:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California judge on Wednesday said he was likely to dismiss criminal pimping charges against the chief executive and controlling shareholders of Backpage.com, ruling that a federal immunity shield for tech companies protected them from prosecution for content posted by third parties.

Backpage, the second-largest U.S. online classified ad service after Craigslist, has faced scrutiny from the U.S. Senate as well as civil lawsuits over allegations that the site facilitates sex trafficking, especially of children.

The controversy over Backpage.com is at the center of a debate over how much liability tech companies should face for user-generated content posted on their platforms.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris last month brought criminal charges against Carl Ferrer, the Backpage CEO, along with shareholders Michael Lacey and James Larkin. However, the defendants argued that the ads on Backpage were posted by third parties and that the state offered no evidence that the defendants knew ads placed by escort services were solicitations for sex.

Under the federal Communications Decency Act, the defendants argued that they could not be prosecuted for content posted by third parties.

In a tentative ruling on Wednesday, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman agreed, saying Congress passed the Communications Decency Act to protect free speech online.

"Congress has spoken on this matter and it is for Congress, not this Court, to revisit," Bowman wrote.

During a hearing later on Wednesday, the judge said the AG's office could file additional briefs on the issue and that he would make a final ruling by Dec. 9, according to his clerk Trevor Shaddix.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office declined to comment.

The Senate voted 96-0 earlier this year to hold Backpage in civil contempt after it did not comply with a subpoena to hand over documents explaining how it combats sex trafficking in ads on the adult section of its website.

One civil lawsuit against Backpage was filed by three young girls who said they were raped multiple times after being advertised on the site. The girls alleged Backpage's rules were intended to instruct pimps how to post trafficking ads that evade law enforcement.

The Washington state supreme court refused Backpage's request to dismiss that case. However, a federal appeals court threw out a similar trafficking case involving children against Backpage in Massachusetts earlier this year, saying the free speech principles embodied in the Communications Decency Act were paramount.

[MassageHunter]

It's as I thought they just want to put pressure on the ceo

[Laphroaig]

Case dismissed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38301979

"But California's attorney general, Kamala Harris, who will shortly become a senator for the Democrat Party, said she intended to find other means to hold the men to account.

"We will not turn a blind eye to the defendants' exploitative behaviour simply because they conducted their criminal enterprise online rather than on a street corner," she said."

[Yasmin Lee Fan]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-backpage-charges-tossed-20161209-story.html