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Posts Tagged ‘village voice media’

Lawmaker Looks to Shut Down Sex Trafficking on Backpage.com

May 15, 2012 | by Social Media

By: Pete Kasperowicz
The Hill
May 8, 2012

Freshman Rep. Robert Turner (R-N.Y.) has introduced a resolution that calls on the owners of Backpage.com to shut down their “adult entertainment” section, which has been said to facilitate child prostitution and sex trafficking. The resolution, H.Res.646, outlines the recent pressures that the public has put on Village Voice Media to terminate these ads. It also cites specific examples of people arrested for sex trafficking, all of whom point to Backpage.com as a tool they used for advertising. Read the full story here.

 

Financiers and Sex Trafficking

April 10, 2012 | by Social Media

By: Nicholas D. Kristof
The New York Times
March 31, 2012

Backpage.com seems to be the biggest forum for domestic minor sex trafficking. The website is owned by Village Voice Media, and the ultimate owners include private equity financiers, including Goldman Sachs. According to AIM Group, a trade organization, Backpage.com has 70 percent of the market for prostitution ads. Although some effort has been made by Village Voice Media to screen ads and alert authorities to abuses, much more needs to be done. Read the full story.