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Thread: Sex marketplace Backpage.com seized by U.S. justice authorities

  1. #1

    Sex marketplace Backpage.com seized by U.S. justice authorities

    Sex marketplace Backpage.com seized by U.S. justice authorities

    Source: Reuters

    April 6, 2018 / 3:55 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement agencies have seized the sex marketplace website Backpage.com as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a posting on its website on Friday.

    The posting said the U.S. Justice Department would provide more information at 6 p.m. EDT. It said U.S. attorneys in Arizona and California, as well as the Justice Department’s section on child exploitation and obscenity and the California and Texas attorneys general had supported the work in shutting down the website.

    Lawmakers and enforcement officials have been working to crack down on the site, the second largest classified ad service in the country after Craigslist that is used primarily to sell sex.

    The U.S. Senate passed legislation last month making it easier for state prosecutors and sex-trafficking victims to sue social media networks, advertisers and others that fail to keep sex trafficking and other exploitative materials off their platforms.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...edName=topNews



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  3. #2
    Great news! This will end prostitution finally!

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    Great news! This will end prostitution finally!
    Child prostitution and trafficking to be more specific. That is the main target of this seizure

  5. #4
    I would think it would be better to leave the site up and monitor, and prosecute, for violations. But, I guess this makes better headlines and leads people to believe that the internet needs to be shut down for certain enterprises.

  6. #5
    Government regulated prostitutes;

  7. #6

    Gulag Chief:
    "Article 58-1a, twenty five years... What did you get it for?"
    Gulag Prisoner: "For nothing at all."
    Gulag Chief: "You're lying... The sentence for nothing at all is 10 years"



  8. #7
    Clearly we need to outlaw men

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by brushfire View Post

    AJ has been bringing this up for years. And people poopoo things like Pizzagate,etc.
    Pfizer Macht Frei!

    Openly Straight Man, Danke, Awarded Top Rated Influencer. Community Standards Enforcer.


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    The Federalist Papers, No. 15:

    Except as to the rule of appointment, the United States have an indefinite discretion to make requisitions for men and money; but they have no authority to raise either by regulations extending to the individual citizens of America.



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    Clearly we need to outlaw men
    "men" is a subjective construct these days. What exactly are you inferring? Surely not trans-men? That would be Nazi, homophobic, anti-feewings. Now if you are talking about white, cis-gendered, $#@!-lords then, hell's yeah! Kill the bastards!

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Danke View Post
    AJ has been bringing this up for years. And people poopoo things like Pizzagate,etc.
    Ben had it all on the line over pizzagate. Glad he landed where he did.

    Gulag Chief:
    "Article 58-1a, twenty five years... What did you get it for?"
    Gulag Prisoner: "For nothing at all."
    Gulag Chief: "You're lying... The sentence for nothing at all is 10 years"



  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by phill4paul View Post
    "men" is a subjective construct these days. What exactly are you inferring? Surely not trans-men? That would be Nazi, homophobic, anti-feewings. Now if you are talking about white, cis-gendered, $#@!-lords then, hell's yeah! Kill the bastards!
    Crap. You are right. Now I have to report myself.

  14. #12
    Sex marketplace, huh? What a bunch of bull$#@!.

    I'm sure this had nothing to do with the ability to meet people to privately buy and sell firearms.
    “The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.” --George Orwell

    Quote Originally Posted by AuH20 View Post
    In terms of a full spectrum candidate, Rand is leaps and bounds above Trump. I'm not disputing that.
    Who else in public life has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?--Donald Trump

  15. #13
    The Donald will have to find a new place to grab pussy.
    "The Patriarch"

  16. #14
    Only Rand Paul and Ron Wyden voted against the bill mentioned in OP

  17. #15
    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.

    More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/backp...014300072.html
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    Clearly we need to outlaw men
    Done,, thanks.
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    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.

    More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/backp...014300072.html
    Is that some kind of record?

    The kangaroos in my case took longer to arrange,,, and I plead guilty without a bargain. and only one state.


    I am curious at this case being closed so quickly without so much as a peep of defense.

    Good Bargain? Good for who?

    Am I the only one that finds this curious?
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by pcosmar View Post
    Is that some kind of record?

    The kangaroos in my case took longer to arrange,,, and I plead guilty without a bargain. and only one state.


    I am curious at this case being closed so quickly without so much as a peep of defense.

    Good Bargain? Good for who?

    Am I the only one that finds this curious?
    It is unusual.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    It is unusual.
    Unusual
    That is a good word,,
    Mine was very simple,, but I am thinking it was several weeks, between hearings,,and a couple of months before final.
    I don't think the bargain I refused was even offered this fast,

    I have watched cops go for years,, before getting off. and in any high profile case,,sometimes the charges are not even announced this quickly,, let alone any plea bargains and case closed..

    This is something,, powerful people want This to go away quietly. or is this only obvious to me?
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by pcosmar View Post
    Unusual
    That is a good word,,
    Mine was very simple,, but I am thinking it was several weeks, between hearings,,and a couple of months before final.
    I don't think the bargain I refused was even offered this fast,

    I have watched cops go for years,, before getting off. and in any high profile case,,sometimes the charges are not even announced this quickly,, let alone any plea bargains and case closed..

    This is something powerful people want to go away quietly. or is this only obvious to me?
    The other option is that it is evidence of a slam-dunk case for which the deal was planned long ago and designed to be an offer the target couldn't refuse, possibly it includes turning state's evidence on others that they currently wish to have believe that it is being swept under the rug.

    Ordinarily I would guess your theory to be much more likely but we aren't living in normal times.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  24. #21
    First they came for backpage.

    They raided the owners because they permitted free and open classifieds . Think about that.

    It is a bad precedent . A step down the slippery slope. If they can shut down speech here, the same rationale can be used to target websites , forums that discuss/promote certain gun ownership, silencers, drugs, alternative pharmaceuticals, extra-banking transactions, financing or currency exchange, foreign passports, off-shore investing, crypto exchanges or transactions, off-grid lifestyles/how-to's/services, any alternative services, bartering, you name it

    It is a horrible precedent.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  25. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    Great news! This will end prostitution finally!
    LOL.

    The morons with this new law and raid just made things far more dangerous for prostitutes. By going after third parties likes hotels and websites, it simply pushes prostitutes into less safe, far more dangerous circumstances. Instead of safe hotels they are pushed back into shady seedy underground locations. Instead of being able to vet potential clients, they now must meet them on the streets or cars. Instead of obtaining clients and controlling business for themselves, now having to use intermediaries - pimps, gangs, organized crime.

    By pushing it into the dark, and out of the light, it makes things more dangerous for those in the sex profession. It rewards and promotes actual traffickers by keeping it in the dark, out of the light, and eliminating competition from legit self employed sex professionals in the open. The same way the drug war rewards drug cartels and drug gangs by eliminating competition and keeping it underground. The same way alcohol prohibition created a massive system of organized crime families and bootleg gangs.
    Last edited by AZJoe; 04-13-2018 at 07:21 AM.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by milgram View Post
    Only Rand Paul and Ron Wyden voted against the bill mentioned in OP
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  27. #24


    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.



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  29. #25
    James Larkin, the former publisher of New Times, who prosecutors described as a “mastermind” behind Backpage.com, will remain in federal custody at least through the weekend.
    Larkin had a hearing on Thursday to sort out details of his possible release. Both sides had agreed to the parameters of him being let out — a large bond and electronic monitoring — but there was a hitch in the details.
    Federal officials had to test the GPS locating equipment at Larkin’s Paradise Valley home to ensure it operated properly. The earliest that could happen would be Monday. U.S. District Magistrate Judge Bridget Bade set Larkin’s hearing for 4 p.m. that day.

    More at: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...end/512642002/
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by AZJoe View Post


    That twitter feed...nice!!!
    "He's talkin' to his gut like it's a person!!" -me
    "dumpster diving isn't professional." - angelatc
    "You don't need a medical degree to spot obvious bullshit, that's actually a separate skill." -Scott Adams
    "When you are divided, and angry, and controlled, you target those 'different' from you, not those responsible [controllers]" -Q

    "Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes. But let it not be said that we did nothing." - Ron Paul

    "Paul said "the wave of the future" is a coalition of anti-authoritarian progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans in Congress opposed to domestic surveillance, opposed to starting new wars and in favor of ending the so-called War on Drugs."

  31. #27
    Founder & CEO of Sex-Trafficking Site BackPage.com Worked For FBI; Robert Mueller Honored Convicted Human Trafficker With FBI Award

    More at: https://truepundit.com/founder-rober...ith-fbi-award/
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Founder & CEO of Sex-Trafficking Site BackPage.com Worked For FBI; Robert Mueller Honored Convicted Human Trafficker With FBI Award
    More at: https://truepundit.com/founder-rober...ith-fbi-award/
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  33. #29
    I watched some of the C-SPAN coverage of the senator who proposed this law. He said one of his constituents told him "I found my (missing?) daughter on Backpage and asked them to take the ad down and they wouldn't." Well...if I found my child on Backpage I would call the number, arrange a "date", and show up with the police. Then again...the police might merely arrest the pimp. I might just show up.

    But I guess common sense isn't common.
    9/11 Thermate experiments

    Winston Churchhill on why the U.S. should have stayed OUT of World War I

    "I am so %^&*^ sick of this cult of Ron Paul. The Paulites. What is with these %^&*^ people? Why are there so many of them?" YouTube rant by "TheAmazingAtheist"

    "We as a country have lost faith and confidence in freedom." -- Ron Paul

    "It can be a challenge to follow the pronouncements of President Trump, as he often seems to change his position on any number of items from week to week, or from day to day, or even from minute to minute." -- Ron Paul
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    The road to hell is paved with good intentions. No need to make it a superhighway.
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    The only way I see Trump as likely to affect any real change would be through martial law, and that has zero chances of success without strong buy-in by the JCS at the very minimum.

  34. #30

    Shut Down: Pedophilia Trafficking Backpage.com Protected By Google, Government & George Soros

    I have a personal advocacy re this story. My 13yo granddaughter and her girlfriend were 'caught' posting pictures and texting on a similar google 'phone' site 2 weeks ago. It caught her mother/my daughter totally by surprise.

    ==============

    https://www.fulcrumnews.com/blog/201...d-george-soros

    Popular sex advertising website Backpage.com was shut down and seized on Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    According to the notification, the website and its affiliates were seized under the enforcement of several other agencies
    including the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
    The founders of Backpage, Michael Lacey, Jim Larkin, and CEO Carl Ferrer, have been fighting a slew of legal battles the past few years.
    The owners are consistently accused of facilitating human trafficking on their website in a variety of different methods.



    The documentary film I am Jane Doe presents a detailed journey
    of multiple child sex trafficking victims and their families fighting for justice.
    According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) 75% of child sex trafficking reports were derived from Backpage.
    Due to these numbers, this makes it the #1 used website for online child trafficking.
    For years, Backpage has been known to be a site in which sex traffickers gained easy access for the advertisement of women and children,
    making it a magnet for online trafficking crimes.



    In one personal story, a mother named Kubiiki Pride found her missing 13 year old daughter on Backpage
    with provocative pictures of her posted in the escorts section.
    Kubiiki Pride was forced to purchase her daughter back from the trafficker in order to secure her safe return home.
    Her trafficker was later jailed, however, Pride also expressed great concern for the website which remained unaccountable.

    After reaching out to the company, Pride states they refused to take down the explicit photographs of her daughter despite the imprisonment of her trafficker.
    Enraged at the inaction of the company, they decided to file a lawsuit claiming the site as well as parent company Village Voice Media Holdings,
    were complicit in the trafficking of children.

    Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, it was ruled that Backpage should have no liability for the crimes committed on their site.
    Unfortunately, this was a common theme as the company continuously won numerous lawsuits in the past decade.

    Article Here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...affickers.html

    Lawyers working the cases were baffled, the company remaining unscathed seemed to be a “mystery.”
    But Backpage owners accumulated massive amounts of wealth over the years, making it nearly impossible to go up against them.
    In its initial stages, Backpage acquired a net income of $5 million annually;
    by 2015 they were making $153.8 million per year.




    Attorney Erik Bauer, representing underage children who were advertised in Seattle,
    was finally able to get his case to the Washington State Supreme Court.


    Their argument was that the company was deeply involved with assisting the traffickers in the creation of their content.
    Backpage appeared to have “coached” the criminals into using particular wording as to remain undetected by law enforcement.
    Their posting rules seemingly provided guidelines for traffickers to continue with their criminal activities.



    For example, the site would recommend posters spell out telephone numbers in order to make it difficult for the FBI to track.
    Additionally, they would advise them to utilize prepaid cards instead of debit or credit cards to stay anonymous.
    Additionally, the “Banned Terms List” was altered frequently.


    In a feigned effort to “crack down” on traffickers, Backpage stated they utilized a list of banned terms for their site.
    These terms included words such as “Teen” or “School Girl.”
    Yet no sooner was the list implemented, it was then reversed.


    Other times, if the words were not unbanned, common code language was promoted as a clear depiction of young children.
    In the end, judges ruled that the website did not “maintain neutral policies.” One judge implied the company was a “partner in crime” just as if they owned a site hosting “snuff films.”

    Link Here https://www.iamjanedoefilm.com/resources/





    By 2015, CEO Carl Ferrer was ordered to testify in front of a Senate Subcommittee on Child Trafficking.
    Ferrer disregarded his subpoena and failed to appear in court.
    He became one of the very few citizens to be held in Contempt of Congress.


    Meanwhile, a company-wide email was sent out laying off the majority of its moderators and advising to seek council immediately,
    should they be asked to testify.
    Ferrer was eventually arrested, however, a judge ruled this violated the CDA 230 and promptly released him.




    In 2016, the Backpage founders and CEO found themselves in another legal bind with pimping charges
    coming from California’s then-Attorney General Kamala Harris.
    The case, however, was quickly swept under the rug.


    In October, co-founder Jim Larkin donated $10,000 to Nancy Pelosi super PAC (House Majority PAC), a committee which also contributed to Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign.
    Only 2 months, later the case was dropped by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lawrence Brown who also cited CDA 230.
    According to The Washington Times, the owners have a history of being a major contributor in politics.
    Since 2010, they have been recorded as giving $99,000 to candidates and $95,000 to various Democratic parties.


    Link Herehttps://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/17/nancy-pelosis-super-pac-keeps-donations-from-backp/


    Yet, politicians, judges, and super PACs aren't the only powerful entities who protected Backpage throughout the years.
    According to I am Jane Doe, several groups provided millions of dollars in financial support to Backpage during their legal battles.
    The main groups include the Electronic Frontier Foundation and The Center for Democracy and Technology.
    The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) contains the following major institutions:

    AT&T,
    Facebook,
    Ford Foundation,
    Google, Inc.
    MacArthur Foundation,
    Markle Foundation,
    Microsoft,
    Yahoo,
    and even the George Soros backed Open Society Institute.






    The majority of them provided millions of dollars in support
    to a company with serious serial accusations of child trafficking facilitation. Soros’ Open Society Institute donated nearly $2 million dollars to the CDT in 2014 alone.
    In 2017, Consumer Watchdog compiled a 48 page report entitled “How Google’s Backing of BackPage Protects Child Sex Trafficking.”

    Documents Here https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...ns-from-backp/





    Google has also recently come under fire for insinuating child sex ads are “free speech.”
    They continuously refuse to distance themselves from Backpage even after a letter was sent
    to Eric Schmidt,
    to Larry Page
    and to Sundar Pichai
    from the parents of the victims pleading with them to cease their support.




    Now that the founders have been arrested following the raiding of their homes,
    there is much anticipation to see how many people this scandal will entrap and who will be the next major figure to fall.



    However, one thing is for certain. President Trump has taken the lead on halting the human trafficking epidemic;
    this is a fact the media can no longer hide.




    https://theconservativetreehouse.com...x-trafficking/

    With 80% of the child trafficking victims being advertised on Backpage,
    this is an enormous blow to the child trafficking industry.

    As Trump said, he plans to put “the full weight” of the government behind stopping these criminals,
    including seizing the assets of serious human rights abusers
    as stated in the recently signed Executive Order #13818.
    Last edited by goldenequity; 04-15-2018 at 10:22 AM.

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