Backpage.com Adult Section Goes 100% Crypto
International classified ad sites Backpage.com has switched to providing exclusively cryptocurrency payments for its adult entertainment section. As of July 9, users posting advertisements of an adult nature, such as escort services, must use Bitcoin, Litecoin or Dogecoin to pay any posting fees. The move makes Backpage the first mainstream resource of its type to experiment with a cryptocurrency-only payment model. On July 7 Backpage, which is headquartered in Texas, announced the suspension of fees for the adult section, in response to Visa and MasterCard’s refusal to continue servicing....
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Classified ads site Backpage.com has filed a lawsuit against the County Sheriff who led a successful campaign to have Visa and MasterCard cut its payment processing. Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart’s complaint resulted in Backpage having to use cryptocurrency as an exclusive payment method for ads in its adult section. Dart had alleged that the ads promoted and encouraged sexual trafficking, something which Backpage had struggled to counter in recent years, Talking Points Memo reports. Now, a suit filed Tuesday against Dart alleges he “achieved his purpose through false accusations,....
MasterCard and American Express have recently announced that they will be barring the use of their credit cards to pay for sex ads on Backpage.com. Visa also banned its service on the site, which is allegedly being used for sex traffickers. According to Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, the ads for escorts on the site are part of a group of sex-trafficking industry players that prey on the young and vulnerable. The site offers forums to find roommates and sell goods, like other classified advertising sites like Craigslist, but its primary revenue stream is through its adult page, added....
Texas police arrested Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer on Thursday and will move to shut down the site. The classified ad site is accused of human trafficking through its adult services section, which reportedly makes 90 per cent of its revenues. The arrest was a joint operation between the Texas and California attorneys-general offices. This case does not accuse anyone of providing or paying for adult services with bitcoin. However, digital currency was a popular payment method for site advertisers who could not use mainstream payment channels. Bitcoin brokerage Paxful produced this video,....
Backpage.com is taking Chicago sheriff, Thomas Dart to federal court. The business is suing the Cook County official for his campaign to get Visa and Mastercard to deny them service. So far the sheriff was quite successful as both credit companies ended their service with the adult magazine. On July 21, Backpage filed suit against Dart for his....
Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested in Houston on Thursday in relation to an outstanding California warrant for multiple charges including prostitution, according to Reuters. The website has been the focus of a three-year investigation in the state of California regarding its online advertising of sexual services, and accusations of child trafficking for the purposes of sexual abuse. The two states say they have evidence of forced prostitution. A joint investigation by the offices of the Texas and California attorneys general uncovered evidence that adult and child sex trafficking....