PorkChopSandwiches
11-16-2016, 08:35 PM
Charges against Backpage.com controversial CEO have been rejected by a California judge over free speech concerns.
Carl Ferrer was arrested last month in Texas on child pimping charges, with authorities alleging that his website gained millions from posts involving sex trafficking.
Backpage.com pages include ads for various goods and services including cars, furniture and jobs, but has gained notoriety for the number of escorts that use it.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris called the site “the world’s top online brothel.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who first announced the charges after Ferrer was arrested in Houston, said that the site made money “off the backs of innocent human beings by allowing them to be exploited for modern-day slavery.”
Backpage.com has become known for its escort section.
However, Sacramento-based judge Michael Bowman said that a federal law grants website operators immunity from being prosecuted over user-posted content.
Former Backpage.com owners Michael Lacey and James Larkin were charged along with 55-year-old Ferrer.
Congress previously subpoenaed Ferrer to tell them how Backpage tries to prevent trafficking, but he did not appear and the company was held in contempt of Congress in March.
Carl Ferrer was arrested last month in Texas on child pimping charges, with authorities alleging that his website gained millions from posts involving sex trafficking.
Backpage.com pages include ads for various goods and services including cars, furniture and jobs, but has gained notoriety for the number of escorts that use it.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris called the site “the world’s top online brothel.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who first announced the charges after Ferrer was arrested in Houston, said that the site made money “off the backs of innocent human beings by allowing them to be exploited for modern-day slavery.”
Backpage.com has become known for its escort section.
However, Sacramento-based judge Michael Bowman said that a federal law grants website operators immunity from being prosecuted over user-posted content.
Former Backpage.com owners Michael Lacey and James Larkin were charged along with 55-year-old Ferrer.
Congress previously subpoenaed Ferrer to tell them how Backpage tries to prevent trafficking, but he did not appear and the company was held in contempt of Congress in March.