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View Full Version : Backpage shuttered claims Censorship



SteelyDan
01-22-17, 00:05
While in recent times I have indulged in this hobby less than in the past, I do like to keep tabs on both the community and browse the local market even if not in a hunting mood at the time. Much to my surprise when checking out some referenced links a few weeks old I find that backpage has completely shuttered their escort section. A bit of research points to some congressional hearing or report where they determined that the business runners.

"edited prostitution advertisements to remove indications of wrongdoing and promote sexual trafficking of underage girls. ".

Which in an of itself is dubious, it seems to me they would actively be looking to do the opposite so that they wouldn't be brought under investigation or report. I mean they are in the business of making money, not human trafficking and from my experience their were thousands of consenting adult age participants to profit off of, and anything to do with under age would be undue risk. Not only that but ever since craigslist shuttered their adult services section, it seemed like backpage was going above and beyond to make sure their weren't even ads involving pregnant women because I assume they thought even that would look exploitative?(its not). But it's much easier to get the public behind your batshit moralizing if children are involved vs adults so no doubt their was some considerable dishonesty by the lobbyists that pushed this change.

Either way probably the biggest single source for escort advertisements in the US is now gone. Of course we all know as long as their is a demand something never truely goes away, just changes form or name. Still a site such as this was invested information wise quite significantly into the backpage structure so much that almost any city of decent size has a Backpage reviews sub forum still. I havn't seen any site wide notification or thread addressing this change, so figured the opinion section was a good place to query. Is their an heir apparent yet backpage? Some site where the girls working the cities have already gravitated towards, maybe like oah backpages is down lets check our other ads at. I've stirred promising street talent towards backpage before if I found the quality high enough and felt they could gain an audience their, usually with favors done for the guidance. Now I don't know where I would point them.

Lamron
01-22-17, 20:22
While in recent times I have indulged in this hobby less than in the past, I do like to keep tabs on both the community and browse the local market even if not in a hunting mood at the time. Much to my surprise when checking out some referenced links a few weeks old I find that backpage has completely shuttered their escort section. A bit of research points to some congressional hearing or report where they determined that the business runners.

"edited prostitution advertisements to remove indications of wrongdoing and promote sexual trafficking of underage girls. ".

Which in an of itself is dubious, it seems to me they would actively be looking to do the opposite so that they wouldn't be brought under investigation or report. I mean they are in the business of making money, not human trafficking and from my experience their were thousands of consenting adult age participants to profit off of, and anything to do with under age would be undue risk. Not only that but ever since craigslist shuttered their adult services section, it seemed like backpage was going above and beyond to make sure their weren't even ads involving pregnant women because I assume they thought even that would look exploitative?(its not). But it's much easier to get the public behind your batshit moralizing if children are involved vs adults so no doubt their was some considerable dishonesty by the lobbyists that pushed this change.

Either way probably the biggest single source for escort advertisements in the US is now gone. Of course we all know as long as their is a demand something never truely goes away, just changes form or name. Still a site such as this was invested information wise quite significantly into the backpage structure so much that almost any city of decent size has a Backpage reviews sub forum still. I havn't seen any site wide notification or thread addressing this change, so figured the opinion section was a good place to query. Is their an heir apparent yet backpage? Some site where the girls working the cities have already gravitated towards, maybe like oah backpages is down lets check our other ads at. I've stirred promising street talent towards backpage before if I found the quality high enough and felt they could gain an audience their, usually with favors done for the guidance. Now I don't know where I would point them.It does suck that they closed the adult section, although they said they are trying to reopen it. But it's not gone, they just moved it over to the dating section. So just check out that section.

SteelyDan
01-23-17, 12:23
I for some reason didn't think to check there. Mainly when looking at dating I got to craigslist for UTR but if that is apparently the new grounds for the ladies will definitley check it out.

MeyghaMann
04-07-18, 23:35
I for some reason didn't think to check there. Mainly when looking at dating I got to craigslist for UTR but if that is apparently the new grounds for the ladies will definitley check it out.Looks like you can't anymore site got shutdown.

Cephlapod Love
04-11-18, 21:35
Would some history of BP be of interest? The recently released indictment that went with the FBI seizing the website, sheds some light on what has going on behind the scenes. Quite a bit different that what I thought was going on!

BackPage grew out of an alternative newspaper, Phoenix New Times, which frequently featured ads for prostitution. By 2000 the rise of the internet and Craigslist with free classified advertising, began to cut into PNT's revenues since they depended on classified advertising.

So BackPage was created as an alternative to CL. In January 2006 BP supplied only 1% of ad revenues. By 2008, BackPage was generating $5 million (MM) in annual profit. 2009 it increased to $10 MM profit.

In 2010 Craigslist shutdown its Adult Services sections due to illegal services (prostitution ads). BP anticipated a deluge of adult content advertising. Annual profits in 2010 were $26 MM, $52 MM in 2011 and $78 MM in 2012. Profits grew to $112 MM in 2013 and over $134 MM in 2014.

Initially BP was pretty much the "wild west" with 'anything goes' permitted in the adverts. I remember ads showing sex acts (BJs), pictures of genitalia and code words like "lolita" for under aged girls. In response to pressure, BP started to moderate and clean up adverts- removing sex act pictures and coded terms for prostitution. The recent indictment docs show that while they "cleaned up" ads, they were loath to cancel them or report incidences of under age or trafficking.

But the "problem" IMHO with Backpage as outlined in the 167 page indictment document is that it turned a blind eye to sex trafficking AND under aged stuff. It sure looks like several Agencies and NGOs approached Backpage over the last 7 years with evidence of trafficking and under age stuff AND provided concrete methods Backpage could have used to prevent or eliminate that stuff. But as the indictment indicates, in time after time, instead of adopting changes, BP chose profits instead.

I outlined some of the more egregious stuff in a summary I wrote, here:

http://www.usasexguide.info/forum/showthread.php?21890-Delaware-Douchebaggery!&p=3797558&viewfull=1#post3797558.

So it sure looks like BP had many warnings and many people trying to work with them to get the worst stuff removed, NOT censor them or shut them down. BP appears to have consistently turned a blind eye. So when initial efforts (2016) to file charges against BP failed and as a result BP didn't see a need to make any changes, it is no wonder that the Congress acted to make a new over-reaching law in order to stop these dudes.

I mean by 2014 BP was making a profit of $134MM. So what if changes cut that in half? Wouldn't it be the right thing to do to stop trafficking and under aged stuff?