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☆ The Epstein story may not be the fantastical conspiracy of blackmail and murder that drew you in. But it is disgusting — and more common than you think.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In the end, the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case caused international intrigue because of its ties to some of the wealthiest, most high-profile names in the world. AdvertisementBut, in the end, the story of Jeffrey Epstein and his entourage of accusers is not all that uncommon. Donald Trump, Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida. Speaking generally, textbook sex trafficking victims have had to live most of their lives like this. Maybe Jeffrey Epstein was assassinated in his jail cell to keep the rich and powerful safe.

Persons: —, Jeffrey Epstein, Peter Nygard, Kelly, NXVIM, Jeffrey Epstein's, James, Gabriel Lopez Albarran, Epstein, Maura Healey, aren't, Stacey Gallagher, Gallager, Virginia Guiffre, Donald Trump, Melania Knauss, Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey, Harvey Weinstein, Maxwell, they're, Michael Caine, Dave Benett, Jacob Shamsian, I've, Ghislaine Organizations: Service, Business, AP, Virgin Islands, vacationland, johns, Mar, Davidoff, FBI, Department of Justice Locations: Little St, Virgin, Cape, vacationland USA, Virginia, Palm Beach , Florida, Palm Beach, West Palm, British, Chelsea, London

PHOENIX (AP) — Backpage.com founder Michael Lacey was convicted Thursday on a single count of money laundering and acquitted on another. But the Arizona jury deadlocked on 84 other counts against him, leading the federal judge to declare a mistrial. Lacey had been charged with participating in a scheme to sell sex ads. It marked the second time a mistrial has been declared in the case against the founder of the lucrative classified site. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa in Phoenix declared the mistrial after jurors deliberated for six days.

Persons: — Backpage.com, Michael Lacey, Lacey, Diane Humetewa, Lacey’s Organizations: PHOENIX, District, Associated Press Locations: Arizona, U.S, Phoenix

☆ Omegle Shuts Down as Founder Acknowledges Crime on Video Chat Site
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Eduardo Medina | More About Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. K-Brooks, who founded the website at 18 years old, did not explicitly mention problems with pedophilia on the website in the letter. The end of Omegle comes as lawmakers and law enforcement agencies continue to examine the role of technology and social media in the explosion of online child sex abuse in recent years. While the problem predates the internet, smartphones, social media and cloud storage have worsened the issue, and several lawsuits and criminal cases have argued that Omegle enabled abusers to meet children for anonymous messaging and coercion. Such businesses face the problem of addressing rampant criminal activity on their platforms, sometimes with limited resources to stop it. They also face threats of criminal charges if they do not comply with requests from the authorities for data that could prove such activity.

Persons: Brooks, Omegle, Michele Bush Organizations: Loehrs Forensics

“Backpage was viewed in law enforcement as the most cooperative site,” said Bruce Feder, the attorney for former executive vice-president Spear. But under Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer, the standards used to screen for potential prostitution ads were not clear, attorney David Eisenberg said. Prosecutors say Backpage’s operators ignored warnings to stop running prostitution ads, some involving children. Authorities say Backpage employees would aggregate more users by identifying prostitutes through Google searches, then call and offer them a free ad. Backpage’s operators said they never allowed ads for sex and used people and automated tools to try to delete such ads.

Persons: —, Backpage.com, Scott Spear, Andrew Padilla, Joye Vaught, “ Backpage, ”, Bruce Feder, Spear, ” Joy Bertrand, Vaught “, Vaught, Bertrand, ” Bertrand, Carl Ferrer, David Eisenberg, ” Eisenberg, “, Michael Lacey, John Brunst, Lacey, James Larkin, Larkin, Ferrer, Backpage Organizations: PHOENIX, Phoenix . Defense, Phoenix New Times, Voice, Prosecutors, Authorities Locations: Phoenix, Dallas, Arizona, California

☆ The DC Circuit just upheld a controversial law aimed at protecting sex trafficking victims. Advocacy groups say it 'inadvertently encouraged the kind of abuse it sought to eradicate,' as more women ar
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Consensual sex workers and advocates say the law, an addition to Section 230, makes them less safe. I was doing online work in the past and this feels more dangerous' or 'I've experienced assault' since it happened," Cleary told Insider. After FOSTA was passed, sex workers, advocates, and some anti-trafficking groups predicted this outcome, warning lawmakers that the overbroad law would lead to a chilling effect and reduced resources for consensual sex workers and trafficking victims. If this law has had an effect on rates of trafficking in the United States, it has evidently only increased the risks sex workers and trafficking survivors face." "As Bardot Smith has said, 'Sex workers are often the canaries in the coal mine,'" Kendra Albert, the cyberlaw clinic instructor at Harvard Law School, told WHYY.

Persons: Rebecca Cleary, I've, Cleary, FOSTA, they're, SESTA, Lexi, HuffPost, TechDirt, Bardot Smith, Kendra Albert, WHYY Organizations: DC, Service, Communications, Twitter, Baylor University and West Virginia University, Craigslist, Harvard Law School Locations: Wall, Silicon, United States, Florida

☆ Some adult content creators are worried about losing their community if Twitter dies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Morgan Sung | Morgan Sung Is A Trends Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

As she followed reports of the chaos within Twitter, OnlyFans creator and artist Stephanie Michelle fretted over what losing Twitter would mean for her livelihood. The pandemic and subsequent OnlyFans boom brought a new wave of adult content creators to the so-called sex work Twitter. The online sex work community is also tight-knit, so it’s also become a space to warn others of potential dangerous customers. Because sex work is so widely stigmatized, sex workers rely on each other for mutual aid and support. She added that many sex workers have experienced losing their followings and community because of how hostile other social media platforms are to adult content creators, even if they aren’t posting explicit content.

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