
Backpage Founder's 93 Charges Lack Actual Sex-Trafficking Claims - Fins
https://reason.com/blog/2018/04/09/backpage-founders-93-charges-lack-actual
======
drawkbox
It was always about censorship and an aside of blocking sex
workers/prostitution.

The founders have been ad hominem attacked but they are big in civil rights
[3], personal freedoms and started the New Times and Village Voice alternative
media which is a check on authority [1][2], Backpage was originally the New
Times classified section.

The government filter/firewall is the authoritarian goal in this journey.
Backpage and SESTA/FOSTA are solely about censorship and a step towards the
internet filter/firewall [4].

Meanwhile Backpage really only added a filter to block words as any
profanity/bad word filter does per direction from the government and lawyers
[5].

The Backpage report claims of 'trafficking' amounts to simply a profanity
filter that backpage created to PREVENT people posting bad ads or possible
'trafficking' not encouraging it [5].

The report says Backpage 'knowingly concealed evidence of criminality' for
removing bad terms being posted due to a profanity/word filter? They didn't
want people posting ads with these terms because they were bad words, not that
they supported it[5].

That argument is like saying, because a site profanity filter removed racial
slurs that the site was 'knowingly concealing evidence of racism'.

New Times has been kicking up dust on authoritarianism since the 70s. Lacey
and Larkin also won a lawsuit against Arizona as recently as 2013 for false
arrest which is still used to attack them [1][7]. They had exposed Sheriff Joe
Arpaio's real estate corruption and his home address was in the article and is
public information. Arpaio demanded all information on every visitor to the
website, the article and previous articles about him for who knows what, they
refused and published that and they were arrested for not turning over private
user data for merely reading an article about Arpaio [7].

> _In December 2013, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors agreed to pay
> Phoenix New Times founders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin $3.75 million to
> settle their false arrest lawsuit against the county defendants._

Massive authoritarian overreach is happening on the internet from many sides.

When authoritarian overreaches begin, you first go towards censorship,
attacking civil rights, alternative media and funders of rights.

The crazy thing is they literally had these guys in a jail cell in the
courtroom [6] like they were Hannibal Lecter, it feels very authoritarian and
a bit scary considering their civil rights / alternative media / anti-war
background and they merely ran a website [6]. The money laundering charges are
because they tried to move ownership of the site offshore due to authoritarian
overreach attacking it [5][6].

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_New_Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_New_Times)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_Voice_Media](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_Voice_Media)

[3]
[http://www.laceyandlarkinfronterafund.org/](http://www.laceyandlarkinfronterafund.org/)

[4] [https://www.wired.com/2017/04/internet-censorship-is-
advanci...](https://www.wired.com/2017/04/internet-censorship-is-advancing-
under-trump/)

[5]
[https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Backpage%20Report...](https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Backpage%20Report%202017.01.10%20FINAL.pdf)

[6] [http://time.com/5233804/backpage-prostitution-money-
launderi...](http://time.com/5233804/backpage-prostitution-money-laundering-
scheme/)

[7] [http://www.laceyandlarkinfronterafund.org/the-
incident/](http://www.laceyandlarkinfronterafund.org/the-incident/)

~~~
luckydude
I read some article that claimed that the sex workers are really against the
new laws. If I'm to believe the article, there are apparently a bunch of sex
workers who weren't forced into the sex trade by some evil person (I think
most do it because it is the "easiest" path to making decent money). These
workers used craigslist and backpage to have clients contact them and then
there is some way they screen the clients (is luckydude some creep or just
some normal schmoo who wants his ashes hauled? They network and talk to each
other about clients somehow).

Now with the internet removed as an easy way to screen these workers are
claiming they'll have to work the streets or work with pimps which is far
worse.

I hadn't really thought about that but I can see it. So perhaps these new laws
are not so great. Who would have thought our awesome congress would do that?

~~~
Fins
Interestingly, it is also apparently quite difficult to find actual
trafficking victims, at least in the US.

~~~
jstarfish
Most of them are both (a) minors and (b) minorities, so it's no surprise
people assume this is a rare phenomenon. It only happens to black and latina
girls, thus, it doesn't happen at all.

Why do you think the NCMEC is so up in arms about Backpage? They know damn
well what happens to runaway girls. Not all of them see themselves as victims.

When more underage white girls start turning up in prostitution busts you
won't have a problem finding victims.

~~~
Fins
Cynic in me asks what NCMEC would do, if there were no great epidemic of
trafficking. And a nice easy target to pin it on.

Interestingly, all the examples below talk about grown up Asian women.

Not to say that trafficking never happens, or should not be stopped, but if it
were as prevalent as they say, _somebody_ would have presented a few by now.

------
captain_perl
For those unaware of the previous run at Craigslist by several States
Attorneys, here's a summary:

Questioner: "If you close down this safe forum, workers will just go to
another forum." State Attorney: "Then we'll sue them too."

So States Attorneys don't see themselves in any way as social workers, just as
law enforcement willing to play whack-a-mole forever without regard to the
societal cost.

~~~
gowld
States Attorneys's salaries and power depend on a steady crime rate, not
reducing crime.

------
DataWorker
And the recent closure of craigslist personals section while keeping the
“therapeutic services” section where the actual sex work solicitation occurs
is worth consideration also.

~~~
luckydude
I emailed Craig about that and they are gone now.

