September 21, 2010 - 11:02am
Attorney General Steve Six has joined 20 other attorneys general in requesting the immediate removal of the adult services section on Backpage.com because of rampant ads that include the trafficking of children for sex, the attorney general's office said Tuesday.
A letter sent to the website also asks for strict manual review policies for ads posted in other sections.
"Human trafficking is a crime that lurks in the shadows, and unfortunately the growth in human trafficking goes hand in hand with predators having easy access online at websites like craigslist and Backpage.com," Six said.
"We are asking that Backpage.com follow the lead of craigslist and take immediate action to fight the victimization of women and children who are being sold online."
There has been an ongoing investigation of online ads posted at Backpage.com since 2009. In their letter, the attorneys general note that Backpage.com has taken certain steps to limit the number of prostitution and human trafficking ads but with limited success.
"Once you began charging for ads in the adult services section of the site, prostitution began migrating into certain sections of the personals section, so you began to charge to posts ads in that section as well," the
A.G.s wrote. "We urge you to take additional efforts, such as manual review of each ad in theses sections of the personals — and others if it becomes necessary — before ads are posted."
Backpage.com had indicated in an earlier letter that their attempts to charge a fee for their adult services section have led to predators moving their business to different sections of the site.
"Taking down this section would be an important step in our efforts to combat the victimization of children across the country," Six said. "The problem of human trafficking is a growing one, and we need to take all available actions to crack down on these predators."
In closing the letter, the A.G.s wrote, "We sincerely hope backpage, like craigslist, will finally hear the voices of the victims, women and children, who plead with it to make this important change. We too, call on backpage to listen, to care, and respond now by shutting down the adult services section of its website. It is the right thing to do to protect innocent women and children."
The letter is signed by attorneys general from Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
A letter sent to the website also asks for strict manual review policies for ads posted in other sections.
"Human trafficking is a crime that lurks in the shadows, and unfortunately the growth in human trafficking goes hand in hand with predators having easy access online at websites like craigslist and Backpage.com," Six said.
"We are asking that Backpage.com follow the lead of craigslist and take immediate action to fight the victimization of women and children who are being sold online."
There has been an ongoing investigation of online ads posted at Backpage.com since 2009. In their letter, the attorneys general note that Backpage.com has taken certain steps to limit the number of prostitution and human trafficking ads but with limited success.
"Once you began charging for ads in the adult services section of the site, prostitution began migrating into certain sections of the personals section, so you began to charge to posts ads in that section as well," the
A.G.s wrote. "We urge you to take additional efforts, such as manual review of each ad in theses sections of the personals — and others if it becomes necessary — before ads are posted."
Backpage.com had indicated in an earlier letter that their attempts to charge a fee for their adult services section have led to predators moving their business to different sections of the site.
"Taking down this section would be an important step in our efforts to combat the victimization of children across the country," Six said. "The problem of human trafficking is a growing one, and we need to take all available actions to crack down on these predators."
In closing the letter, the A.G.s wrote, "We sincerely hope backpage, like craigslist, will finally hear the voices of the victims, women and children, who plead with it to make this important change. We too, call on backpage to listen, to care, and respond now by shutting down the adult services section of its website. It is the right thing to do to protect innocent women and children."
The letter is signed by attorneys general from Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
AGs target human trafficking | CJOnline.com
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