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US investigates escort and massage sites over human trafficking
Backpage is no more, but US authorities are still determined to crack down on sites that enable human trafficking and other crimes. Wall Street Journal sources say Homeland Security, the Justice Department and others are reportedly investigating escort and massage sites Eros.com, EroticMonkey.ch and Rubmaps.ch to see if they've either participated in or knowingly facilitated trafficking, prostitution and money laundering. All three are dominating in the US in the wake of Backpage's closure, and both Eros and Rubmaps have turned up as evidence in multiple sex trafficking cases.
Backpage.com CEO pleads guilty to human trafficking
Documents unsealed today by the Justice Department (PDF) reveal Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in Arizona on April 5th, a day before the site was seized and shut down. Additionally, attorneys general in California and Texas announced today that the site itself has entered a guilty plea to charges of human trafficking in Texas, while Ferrer pleaded guilty to conspiracy and three counts of money laundering in California. Several corporate entities tied to the site, including Backpage.com LLC, also entered guilty pleas to charges of money laundering. As a part of the deal that will see him serve a maximum of five years in prison, the prosecutors say Ferrer has surrendered the URLs of the site and its data to law enforcement, and that he will cooperate in the prosecution against others involved with the company -- namely co-founders and controlling shareholders Michael Lacey and James Larkin, who were indicted April 9th. The plea deal includes Ferrer's admission that a majority of the site's ads were for sex services, and that he conspired with others to launder proceeds from the ads after credit card companies and banks wouldn't do business with the site.
Backpage.com officials indicted following FBI shutdown
Last week, the US government seized the classified website Backpage.com, disabled it, and replaced its front page with a disclaimer announcing its shutdown. The site's cofounders had been the subject of law enforcement investigations into pimping, sex trafficking and money-laundering over the years. Today, a grand jury in Phoenix indicted seven officials associated with the website with alleged money laundering and facilitating prostitution.
Backpage.com was seized by the federal government
Classifieds website Backpage.com has been seized and disabled by the federal government. When you visit the website now, you'll see a message saying it and all affiliated websites have been taken over "as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, with analytical assistance from the Joint Regional Intelligence Center." The message goes on to name a handful of other enforcement groups involved in the action and states that more information will be provided by the US Department of Justice later this evening. Backpage is the second largest classifieds website.
House passes contentious anti-online sex trafficking bill
Sex-trafficking victims, prosecutors and state attorneys will be able to sue websites that host ads and content linked to the sex trade under the bill the House has just approved. The bill called "Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017" or FOSTA seeks to amend Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects websites from lawsuits over user-generated posts. It was filed by Rep. Ann Wagner (pictured above) to target websites like Backpage, which hosts sex and child trafficking ads. Previous investigations have revealed that Backpage went as far as editing posters' ads -- it replaced words in ads trafficking minors with terms like "fresh," for instance -- to conceal evidence from law enforcement.
Bipartisan support grows for online sex trafficking bill
The bill aimed to curb online sex trafficking has gained support from 60 senators, which means it has enough backing to withstand a filibuster once it reaches the floor. Both republican and democrat lawmakers have put their weight behind the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, with three additional members of the GOP backing it this week Bloomberg reports. Previously, the Internet Association (which counts Amazon, Facebook and Google as members) was opposed to any changes to the Communications Decency Act's Section 230, but in November the organization changed its tune after vague wording was cleared up.
Backpage shutters its adult section before Senate hearing
Backpage, the classified ads website known for hosting escort ads, has shut down its adult section. The company made its move on the eve of its US Senate hearing and just hours after the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations published a 53-page report of what it found out about Backpage's activities. The report accused the company of knowing that its website facilitated sex and child trafficking, as well as of concealing evidence by editing advertisements.
Backpage.com execs hit with pimping and money laundering charges
California Attorney General Kamala Harris has renewed the case against the co-founders of online classifieds site Backpage.com. Earlier this month, a judge in Sacramento County threw out pimping and sex trafficking charges against three of the site's executives, citing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online service providers from illegal activity committed by users of their site. On Friday, however, Harris announced her office is pursuing 13 new charges of pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping as well as 26 counts of money laundering against the site's execs.
Backpage executives cleared of pimping charges
The long-running legal battle between Congress and the online classified ads site Backpage.com has finally come to a close after a California judge dismissed pimping charges against the site's CEO and co-founders today. The site's "adult" section of the site has long been known for facilitating sex trafficking and other illegal activity, but Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman agreed with the Backpage execs' argument that they were not responsible for third-party postings on their site.
Backpage CEO arrested and charged with pimping a minor
Online classified ad site Backpage.com has been going through legal turmoil for years, and with good reason -- there's plenty of evidence that the site's "adult" section has been a haven of sex trafficking, including some advertisements for sexual encounters with minors. All those issues are hitting the company in a big way today: CEO Carl Ferrer and founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin were charged today in California on charges of conspiracy and pimping a minor, reports The New York Times.
Senate holds Backpage in contempt in child trafficking probe
The Senate has unanimously voted (96-0) to hold Backpage, a classified ads website, in contempt of Congress. See, Homeland Security's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued subpoenas last year, asking Backpage for extensive documentation on how it screens the ads people post. The company, however, only shared general documents that didn't contain the information the subcommittee needed. Lawmakers are investigating the website due to allegations that it allows child sex-trafficking ads to go through. Further, lawmakers say its screening practices even help traffickers avoid prosecution by editing ads and using buzz terms like "fresh" to indicate underage prostitutes.
