In the wake of Craigslist shutting down its adult-services section earlier this year, Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal, along with the attorneys general from twenty other states, is calling on Village Voice Media to shut down Backpage.com’s adult-services section. Blumenthal claimed the site is projected to earn about $17.5 million from prostitution ads this year. Once the site started charging to advertise in the adult-services section, ads for prostitution moved to the personal section, so the company started charging in that section as well. “Adult services sections are little more than online brothels, enabling human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children,” Blumenthal said. “Because Backpage cannot properly police adult services, the section should be shut down immediately.” We’re all for stopping the exploitation of women and children. But what happens to legit private hula enthusiasts who just want to offer you “nice rewards”?
Connecticut’s Blumenthal, Along With Other AGs, Calls for Closure of Backpage.com [Metropolis/WSJ]
