From VOAT News: (pizzagate)

submitted ago by kestrel9

https://voat.co/v/news/1657477 http://archive.is/o3Gg6 Behind Backpage.com: Sordid online wholesaler of young women selling children for sex with impunity "On January 10, Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer, former owner James Larkin, COO Andrew Padilla, and former owner Michael Lacey, face an inquiry into Backpage.com's alleged facilitation of online sex trafficking." http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/behind-backpagecom-sordid-online-wholesaler-of-young-women-selling-children-for-sex-with-impunity/news-story/e4f5c250d2539986d64a48a4f65ae603

"Mary Mazzio (former lawyer turned filmmaker) met and spoke with a number of them (exploited victims) for a new documentary titled I am Jane Doe. The film was released last week." "Ms Mazzio believes Backpage.com’s ability to carry on operating as usual is “a collective failing of all of us”. But she reserves her harshest judgments for the internet company behind the site and for the judicial system. She says Backpage.com not only knows what’s happening but takes an active role in ensuring it continues. “There was a damning Senate report two weeks ago that revealed some extraordinary facts,” Ms Mazzio said. “It was the existence of pre-filters that was one of the most shocking things. If (a user) had the term ‘Amber Alert’ in an ad, Backpage.com scrubbed the term but still posted the ad, meaning they were knowingly facilitating the sale of a child.” The term “Amber Alert” in the US refers to a nationwide alert for a missing child under the age of 18. Ms Mazzio says Backpage.com still fails to do enough to prevent the practice. The company reports to an authority each month 500 ads they deem suspicious. An email from Backpage.com reveals the company capped the number at 500. Ms Mazzio says that’s bad news for victim 501."

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EndThePizza ago

The whole Backpage thing needs to be looked into more. This says the opposite, that the site worked with law enforcement to help catch traffickers. I would like to know the sources for that statement. https://www.lp.org/libertarian-party-accuses-senate-subcommittee-of-aiding-child-sex-traffickers/ Btw it's a typical libertarian position that shutting down an avenue of distribution for any product doesn't affect the demand or the supply, but just drives the sale into blacker markets.

Perhaps most important: John McCain and Kamala Harris were on the committee that ordered it to be shut down. (I thought I recalled hearing about Harris somewhere tangentially related to the Silsby story, but I can't find the info on that. Can anyone refresh my memory?)

kestrel9 ago

Thanks for the reminder...there is SO much to the international child trafficking (and more!) story (pizzagate). I was intrigued to look more into it's ties in the States and internationally, I think they operate in nearly 200 countries, and they have more than just Backpage. At least two other businesses as well.

kestrel9 ago

Thanks for the link! I'm adding these: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/09/backpage-shutters-u-s-escort-ads-after-senate-report/ http://archive.is/0idc7 However, keep in mind that " As of January 2017, Backpage had 943 location sites on 6 continents and operated in 97 countries in 17 languages." (see senate report link) US State Senate PSOI/CHSGA report: Backpage.com's Knowing Facilitation of Online Sex Trafficking "Backpage Knows Its Site Facilitates Child Sex Trafficking" http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=5D0C71AE-A090-4F30-A5F5-7CFFC08AFD48 This Senate report was addressed by BrickInTheVVall here: https://voat.co/v/pizzagate/1573738 Also this from March 2016 http://archive.is/JRaH2 "As many as 71 percent of suspected child trafficking reports involved Backpage .... On average, only 1 to 2 percent of all arrests for prostitution and commercialized vice involve juveniles, according to the Department of Justice. ...Most trafficked children are introduced to the illegal practice at a young age — between 12 and 14 for girls, and 11 and 13 for boys — and come from difficult backgrounds that make them vulnerable to pimps' emotional 'grooming', advocates say. Once in the sex trade, the average life expectancy is seven years, Maria Clara Rodriguez, the outreach and education supervisor at Kristi House, an advocacy center in Miami, told CNN. "