The chief operating officer of Backpage , a classified ads internet site , pleaded guilty on Thursday to confederacy , money laundering , and alleviate prostitution . Carl Ferrer will faceup to five years in prison house . His plea agreement requires that he for good shut the internet site down immediately , concord to a statement from the Justice Department , as well declare oneself “ proficient help ” to the US government to effectively do so .
The Federal Bureau Investigationseized Backpage.com on April 6th , a movecommended by the Departmentof Justice . “ For far too long , Backpage.com existed as the dominant marketplace for illicit commercial-grade sex , a place where gender traffickers frequently advertised children and adults likewise , ” Attorney General Jeff Sessionssaid in a statementon Thursday . “ But this illegality stops right now . ”
lawgiver have pointed at Backpage as a rationale for introduce both the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act ( FOSTA ) and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act ( SESTA ) this year . The design of the bills is to campaign on-line sex activity trafficking , but somearguethat they will increase online censoring and expose sexual urge worker by taking away a forum to discuss violent client as well as pushing them from safe online spaces to the streets . Donald Trumpsigned the bill into lawon Wednesday .
The Sex Workers Outreach Projectnoted in a statementthat serve like Backpage offer sex worker with a station to freely discuss potentially severe clients , constitute boundaries with clients forrader of clip , and protect them from police insult and violence .
“ The capture of Backpage is another representative of land - sanction violence against the sex work community and their family , ” SWOP write in the statement following the capture of Backpage . “ To do this in the name of anti - trafficking is absurd , as this drives trafficking further underground and makes it more difficult to get at the most marginalize members of any chemical group of people – whether they be work or not . ”
[ ABC , Department of Justice , Attorney General of Texas ]
Daily Newsletter
Get the full tech , skill , and culture news in your inbox daily .
News from the hereafter , present to your present tense .
Please choose your want newssheet and reconcile your e-mail to upgrade your inbox .
