If you were paying attention to the internet news, last week the CEO of backpage was arrested and the site itself was taken down. There are some updates which basically say that the CEO will take a plea deal and never bring the site back online, but the whole idea of why it was taken down and the unintended side effects are never considered. I am actually in favor of legalizing prostitution in the US and having it regulated and made safe compared to what currently goes on. While I dont know how long it will take for that to happen I want to talk about the downsides of why taking backpage offline is a bad idea.
Backpage wasnt the first when it came to wanted ads that had prostitution sections and it wont be the last. Craigslist famously had a big problem until they cracked down which ultimately made backpage the place to go. When backpage started accepting bitcoin in order to avoid problems with bank accounts and banks, they became a hot spot for the escort and prostitution industry. It was very successful and backpage really served that purpose. That is until this week when they were taken offline, which has sent many escorts to various different places.
This is the problem in a nutshell, the Hydra effect where if you cut off one head and two more grow out. Taken backpage offline is only going to stop things for a month or so at max. Other sites will open up and compete until a few end up being used by people in the industry and users will flock to them. The FBI can hi five each other all they want but they literally wasted countless resources doing nothing. Just like when they took down the Silkroad, other markets emerged and are still available today. There is nothing they can do to stop it so why not embrace it and at least regulate it.
The FBIs reasoning for doing all of this comes down to trafficking girls, but theres statistics that the VAST majority of girls are prostituting themselves by their own free will and without a pimp, which is essential. The internet changed the game for prostitution and it has never been safer. Do we want to go back to the 80s where women stood on street corners and were addicted to drugs that they had to get from a pimp? The experience today is better for the users and the providers in total. The amount of girls who do get trafficked is never going to go down because it happened even without the internet. If they want to be of use focus on tracking down the trafficked girls rather than the entire website itself.
This whole thing seems to stem from the FBI just not caring about what effect their actions really have versus the publicity they get. To most people, the FBI taking down backpage was a good thing and something that needed to be done, but these people dont know the industry and dont care. The people that are going to get hurt are the girls who make a living doing this, by increasing risk on their end. As long as it is profitable to sell your body, this industry will NEVER disappear. Even if the FBI takes down 5 more sites, more will pop up.
-Calaber24p
Lets be honest! Once bitcoin got involved in this industry, the goverment went crazy. That’s what they do when it comes to their inconvenience. I’m not in favor of these girls selling their bodies. However, this industry has been here for thousands of years. As a matter of fact in Europe it’s legal since I don’t remember and there is no problems at all.
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Bitcoin makes it easier, but I think there has always been hatred towards the industry. They might be more open about it now though.
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I actually agree 100%. I didn't even know about Backpage until a friend started joking about it. Isn't prostitution legal in Las Vegas? I believe I saw a video on Vice or Vox talking about the brothels in Las Vegas. The women working there seemed like they were doing really well financially. The prostitution industry is similar to the illegal drug industry in my opinion. FBI and DEA celebrate when they catch a kingpin, but then they go on the hunt for another. It's a never ending goose chase. Sex sells. People aren't going to stop because the FBI stops 1 source.
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It is in vegas and a few other places in Nevada I believe, but its heavily regulated which is good. Yeah it is a goose chase that just wastes money and time on arresting people who are barely criminals.
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I think the real issue here, just comes down to freedom. Can you run a website that allows people to post, discuss, sell and offer services, without being held legally responsible for the actions and the results of the users. The federal government seems to say, "No".
Now Facebook, YouTube/Google have all claimed exemptions under the broadcast rules, however BackPage is named for the New Times Newspaper ad section, where it originally came from in the first place? Freedom of the Press?
If Backpage had published any type of online journalism and offered free ads, as well as paid business ads, would they have been shut down and prosecuted? Does freedom of the press, allow you to make money from advertising and to what extent does freedom of association extend to advertising.
Much was made in the traditional media about children being sold for sex, over and over again on BackPage. Of course the media never asked if those "bad people" were arrested, charged and sentenced, etc.
In addition, Cindy McCain, wife of almost dead Senator John McCain stated that "she had a government committee" and if the founders of BackPage had only listened to "her" and changed their business model, then this could have all been avoided. Quite chillin the power wielded by an unelected Senator's wife?
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Craigslist took all the personals out the week before to avoid getting shut down also. If they legalize it they can tax and regulate it and make it safer for all partys involved. Instead they have created more problems but look good in the general publics eye.
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Craigslist is smart to remove all personals and should never put them up again. They have enough traffic and views at this point they dont need it, but a site like backpage would have never been viewed if they did that.
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I agree, although I'm afraid the Hydra effect will take a while. It's going to be a rough year for escorts in the US, until a blockchain-based solution is adopted that can't be banned.
The FBI has always been a vice squad, since they started fighting 'white slavery' in 1910, as it was called then. Don't expect any sympathy from them.
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Well see but escorts are crafty, they will find something. They are already moving over to dating apps and other websites like that.
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The FBI is only inviting more work into their hands as this will only catapult the effect of more springing up. Now that more light has been shared, its a green area for others to pick up theirs and thrive with it. All this is only sending more traffic to the crypto world
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@calaber24p The victim is the girl girl. I am very concerned
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