The Ugly Truth

If your're not familiar with Backpage.com let me introduce you to the sad, ugly truth.  Backpage is a classified advertising website. Similar to Craigslist it offers a wide variety of classified listings including automotive, jobs, and real estate. In fact, it is the second largest classified ad listing service on the Internet in the United States after Craigslist.  Unfortunately, it is also the the largest source for adult services listings on the Internet. This vile website is being used by pimps to peddle girls online.  There are many stories of young girls being seduced online by men who turn out to be pimps or sex-traffickers and this website is providing them an avenue to do that.

If you want to see for yourself how vile it is go to their website (Backpage), choose a random city or one close you.  Then click on the adult section.  Before you do please be warned that this is disturbing and disgusting.  You will see girls in scantily clad, sexy outfits.  Under headings such as Escorts, Body Rubs, Strippers, Dom & Fetish this website is clearly advertising sexual services.  The girls listed claim to be of legal age, but many of them look younger than the age posted.  Many of these ads may be consenting adults, but the ugly truth is that many of them are not.  Minnesota, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi is quoted as saying "When we get a case involving trafficking or prostitution, usually the story is going to start on Backpage.com."  Prosecutors across the country have seen an increase in cases (in 22 states recently) of underage girls being sold for sex on Backpage.com.

Backpage claims that ads submitted to Backpage are subject to an automated scan for terms and code words linked to prostitution. A team of around 100 people then checks each ad individually before it's posted. Each month the team finds around 400 ads offering potentially underage sex. These are sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which in turn alerts law enforcement.  But here is the kicker...The team does not attempt to identify whether the subjects of the ads in question are participating of their own free will.  Nor are these questionable ads removed!

A few years ago Craigslist was doing this very same thing, but caved to the pressure it was getting and removed such ads from it's website.  Some recent strides have been made with Backpage.  Formerly, they were owned by Village Voice Media.  In recent months, Village Voice has separated their newspaper company from Backpage after several high profile companies cancelled ads for publications.  Backpage is now being run by shareholders Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin.

To read about a recent law suit by 3 teens who were trafficked from ads on Backpage click here
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