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If I recall correctly, the owners of Backpage we're charged with taking money and working with the traffickers. It may not have been a matter of Backpage accide
by kjeetgill 7y ago
If I recall correctly, the owners of Backpage we're charged with taking money and working with the traffickers. It may not have been a matter of Backpage accidentally being an exploited market place.
I suspect that changed their willingness to host agents within their walls.
- Mathnerd314 7y agoCoverage of the case is here: https://frontpageconfidential.com/category/backpage/ https://frontpageconfidential.com/category/backpage/ The fed's argument is that there was so much illegal prostitution activity on Backpage that the owners must have been supporting it. The defense is currently occupied with getting access to the servers, presumably to show that the frequency of illegal postings was small compared to the rest of the site and that all reported postings were acted on immediately.
- excalibur 7y agoFun fact, prostitution isn't a federal offense.
- jki275 7y agoThere's a federal statute regarding trafficking persons across state lines as I recall. It's not specifically "prostitution" but meets the general description if there's an interstate nexus, which of course can be easily shown for an internet site in many cases.
- bitwize 7y agoThe Mann Act, a federal law, forbids transport for the purposes of illegal sexual activity. If prostitution is illegal in your state, and you arrange to meet a prostitute online and provide her with a taxicab or Uber, then you have committed a federal crime and are a human trafficker in the eyes of the law. (Though federal LE will probably not get involved unless it crosses state lines.) Fun fact: Originally the Mann Act was passed to give the government the power to prosecute interracial couples. Kinda like how sex-offender registries were first implemented to allow police in California to track gays.