Backpage Seized by the FBI

[CaptRenault]

Here's a long article on about the unjust persecution of the founders of Backpage, but it's worth reading.

The Senate Accused Them of Selling Kids for Sex. The FBI Raided Their Homes. Backpage.com’s Founders Speak for the First Time.

An inside look at how indie media veterans James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | August 21, 2018
reason.com

...The story of their arrest, then, is better understood as one of near-religious fervor, government greed, and political retribution, in which an escalating panic over commercial sex coincided with a booming online publishing platform...

 

[EagerBeaver]

Historically in the adult entertainment business survival required a certain amount of political savvy as in knowing who were the players who need to be paid for inaction whether through legal or illegal bribes and kickbacks. I can think of a local massage parlor that survived for many years in a CT city which was shutting down competitor MPs. The reason why they didn’t touch the one was that the owner figured out that if he made charitable donations to charities highly favored by the police department and State’s Attorney’s office, they would leave him alone. He was right. He proceeded to operate with impunity in a municipality hostile to that type of business.

The owners of BP got powerful and greedy and never stopped to figure out how they could play some ball with the powers that could shut them down. Probably all they had to do is make campaign contributions to favored Republicans running for re-election and they would have been left alone. I got money that says they were solicited to do so and refused, and then what happened happened. It’s all about figuring out how to survive in a harsh political landscape and they couldn’t do it.

None of the media stories are telling you this which is the real story behind the story.

 

[curly]

I think that the FBI should seize the whole internet altogether and prevent its citizens from using it. I'm sure there are much more adds for prostitution on there (and many other illegal things, for that matter...) then there ever were on Backpage!

And then, maybe seize newspapers, magazines? They should even prevent people from talking to each other or control what they say! In the end, communicating with each other is the ultimate way for prostitution to occurs.... Those of you who watch the Handmaid's Tale know what I'm talking about....

Where does the state stop trying to control citizen? As Trudeau (the father) once said, "'There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation"!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Patron,

It's true that the FBI is a tougher nut to crack, but I truly believe that there are ways the BP CEO could have done things that prevented the FBI action in the first place. Your post presumes identification of a player within the FBI but that is not where they should have been looking. The guy they should have been looking to pay was Dave Pecker (appropriately named) of the National Enquirer. Had these guys befriended Cohen and Pecker it would have been very easy to set up a hush-type payment to Pecker to assist with the Trump hush monies, in other words, to essentially finance the Trump "Reelection Fund" with the National Enquirer. What I think happened is that BP got very cocky because they repeatedly won Court challenges in lawsuits brought by politicians and special interest groups. Victory was achieved on 1st Amendment grounds, to the point where they thought they were home free. These lawsuits should have been a red flag warning sign of the turbulent political waters they would have to navigate.

With foresight Carl Ferrer could have arranged a 3 way conversation with Mike Cohen and Dave Pecker and arranged a payment to replenish the "Trump Reelection Fund" that was being maintained by the National Enquirer. Then this might have all been made to go away.

That being said, the FBI is a somewhat autonomous organization operating independently of the President but after Trump fired Comey, that may have changed a bit. It was certainly worth a shot.

Although that hush fund is reported as being extensive it may have gotten its biggest boost from Stormy Daniels because her shopping the story to them enabled the payment that was made.

 

[rumraycer]

Patron, civil forfeiture is an out-of-control monster in the USA - check out many examples at http://endforfeiture.com/

 

[Bred Sob]

What will be their next target? Tim Berners-Lee for creating the web? Or straight to Alan Turing and John von Neumann for creating a (modern) computer?

Make your bets.

 

[CaptRenault]

Reason.com has released an excellent video telling the story of the Backpage.com case.

[h=1]The War on Backpage.com Is a War on Sex Workers (on Youtube.com)[/h]Reason.com
6/26/2009

On the morning of April 6, 2018, the FBI arrested Michael Lacey and James Larkin and seized Backpage.com, the website they created in 2004, on allegations that it was a platform for underage sex trafficking. Lacey and Larkin were later charged with money laundering, conspiracy, and facilitating prostitution. The two men have maintained their innocence and are now confined to Maricopa County, Arizona, via ankle monitors. Their trial is scheduled for 2020.

Veteran newspaper publishers, Lacey and Larkin see their arrest and prosecution as an assault on the First Amendment. In the early 1970s, they built an alt-weekly empire specializing in muckraking journalism. In the process, they made enemies of powerful figures in Arizona politics, including John McCain, his wife, Cindy, and former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

After the internet and Craigslist gutted their business model, Lacey and Larkin launched Backpage.com, an online version of the classified sections of their print newspapers. Illegal activity was never allowed on Backpage, but sex workers advertised their services via innuendo. Connecting with clients online turned out to be considerably safer than walking the streets or working for a pimp. The internet empowered sex workers.

Lacey and Larkin were able to fend off legal challenges thanks to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which said that website platforms aren't responsible for third party content. As sex work became conflated with sex trafficking, that defense was eroded.

Lost in the panic was Lacey and Larkin's behind-the-scenes collaboration with law enforcement in responding to subpoenas and even training vice officers on how to use the site to catch traffickers. Backpage's Carl Ferrer even received a certificate from then-FBI Chief Robert Mueller for his outstanding cooperation helping with sex trafficking investigations.

This is the story of the rise and fall of a newspaper empire, and how a new moral crusade is endangering sex workers, shielding traffickers, empowering pimps, and undermining free speech online.

 

[Bred Sob]

8chan's future is very much in doubt.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/4/20754310/cloudflare-8chan-fredrick-brennan-ddos-attack

Apparently some people are convinced that killing this site will help solve the underlying problem. Same "reasoning" (FLOABW) as with FOSTA/SESTA really.

 

[hungry101]

So Fosta/Sesta made discussing commercial sex online illegal, causing TER to shut down, and that is Constitutional in the U.S. apparently due to public policy concerns regarding trafficking. Even though any of us can point to hundreds of studies definitiveoy showing that sex trafficking is a myth.

But the website used by homegrown terrorists to share thoughts and theories, prior to some of them becoming mass shooters, is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Can someone explain that to me?

“Experts studying hate say authorities seem to be stuck on how to balance tackling hate on internet forums with First Amendment rights of freedom of speech.
“

Sorry Patron, I'e scoured these web sites dedicated to hate and mass destruction and genocide and I can find nothing wrong. If only the mass shooters would have made one slip up like referring to a young woman as "babe" or "sweet cheeks" the #MeToo movement would be all over it but I can find no mention of this. There is only talk of mass murder here.

 

[CaptRenault]

Last fall the judge in the Backpage.com trial declared a mistrial. Reason.com's Elizabeth Nolan Brown explains why:

A new trial is scheduled for late February.

 

[CLOUD 500]

The U.S. is proposing a new federal law that will potentially restrict online discussion and advertisement of sex work, of course under the guise of protecting children (who are not advertised or discussed in the online venues that will be attacked by the proposed law).

Congress May Hand Bill Barr the Keys to Your Online Life

Against the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, our unaccountable surveillance state is set to expand.

newrepublic.com

EARN IT Act - Hacking//Hustling

EARN IT Bill Community Call 1 Transcript What is the EARN IT Act? KATE: Sure. So the EARN IT Act is a bill that was just introduced only a couple weeks ago in the Senate. And what it does overall is kind of build on a lot of the conversations that have been being had … Continue reading "EARN IT Act"

hackinghustling.org

Typical governments, they are always authoritarian. Their answer to everything is prohibition. I believe this is more to do about politics just to show to the world they are doing something to appeal to their religious zealots and feminist votes. These measures will not stop human trafficking/sexual exploitation, in reality it will facilitate it instead. The way all those religious zealots (The Temperance Movement) wanted to outlaw the sale of alcohol, the results they thought they would get they got the complete opposite. Prohibition Era was a big fail. When will governments learn, that the most prosperous and healthy society is one that have their freedom with minimal government interference.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Bedpage has taken over the void in the market left by Backpage, and as far as I can see, it's the exact same site that Backpage was. Here is the body rub page in Manhattan:

You are being redirected...

us-manhattan.bedpage.com

Here is the escort page:

You are being redirected...

us-manhattan.bedpage.com

 

[Jordd]

Bedpage has taken over the void in the market left by Backpage, and as far as I can see, it's the exact same site that Backpage was. Here is the body rub page in Manhattan:

You are being redirected...

us-manhattan.bedpage.com

Here is the escort page:

You are being redirected...

us-manhattan.bedpage.com

Hello Spanish girl jazmin…thanks for that!

 

[EagerBeaver]

BTW in terms of reviews on full service MPs in Manhattan- I have gotten a lot of good intel on a place called Shangrila. It's not to be confused with a gay male MP in Manhattan using the same name. There are tons of reviews of the place on UG, even in the past month. They have multiple locations in Manhattan and are a bit pricy, but the reviews are stellar. Their website contain a link to UG reviews. The staff seems mostly Asian with a sprinkling of Latinas:

Shangri-La

shangrilanyc.com

 

[Numerati]

$320 an hour is not bad. This is a 100% legit establishment so you know you will be getting top notch experience and not be let down.

Back when Montreal Girlfriend/I-N toured NYC ten years ago they were $300 an hour so a place like Shangri-La is not pricy considering.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Numerati,

Here is the Shangri- La Website. While there are some half hour rates available, which is surprising, the hourly rates seem to vary from $340 to $500 by the girl, and FS may be considered an extra, at least with some of the girls, based on reviews I have read:

Our Models – Shangri-La

shangrilanyc.com

Nevertheless, the reviews of the place are overwhelmingly stellar (follow the UG link and you can read them). And contrary to what someone posted in another thread, these MPs in NYC are not staffed with American girls. They are all staffed with off the boat girls, many illegal, from Asia, Ukraine, Russia, and Latinas from South and Central America, predominantly. It used to be that Spellbound Massage had a mix of the aforementioned groups with a few standout American girls, but largely the full service MP scene in NYC is divided amongst the aforementioned immigrant groups.

Back in 2016 I booked an escort through one of the Russian agencies operating on Backpage. I took a chance, not sure why, because the pics could have been fakes, but I struck gold. $600 an hour for an off the boat Russian lady who spoke not too much English, but was a former Model (28 years old). Was probably my best escort experience in NYC ever, for what I paid and considering the market. The girl also stayed past the hour I booked her. I felt sorry for her because her English, while good enough to communicate the basic things, wasn't good enough to enable her to do anything making money outside the immigrant Russian community. I also think that agency toured, because that lady told me she was headed to LA but would be back in NYC. I never saw her again, unfortunately.

Anyway, the point of my original post was that Backpage is not gone. It is simply reincarnated as Bedpage.

 

[Numerati]

Well as long there is something out there to replace backpage. Society needs a balls emptying avenue. If not there were be anarchy. Lol.