7/9/2015 — First it was American Express, then Visa, and now MasterCard… The three credit card behemoths have all agreed to stop processing payments for ads placed on Backpage.com’s ‘adult’ section after a public plea from law enforcement – And Backpage.com’s response? They have made their often prostitution and human trafficking related ads free while they implement a credit card workaround.
Backpage.com offers lots of different things for sale, like TV’s, video games, vehicles, etc. But what they are most known for are their hundreds of millions of ads for adult services; escorts, body rubs, strippers, etc. — most of which have been proven to be front for prostitution and human trafficking.
While Backpage.com officially claims to not support or allow ads for illegal activities, they routinely look the other way while pimps and sex traffickers utilize their site to advertise women and children for sell for sex.
Example of prostitution & human trafficking ads in Oklahoma City.
JohnTV has documented hundreds of cases where pimps and sex traffickers have been busted after advertising unwilling participants for prostitution on Backpage.com.
Below is an actual ad that appeared in the Oklahoma section of Backpage.com that was later revealed to be an advertisement selling a 15-year-old for sex.
Child prostitution ad in Oklahoma.
The financial lifeblood of Backpage is through the fees they charge customers to advertise in the adult section. While most of Backpage.com is free to advertise, the adult section charges $5 to $17 per ad depending on how the ad is setup. And those $5 ads add up to big profits – estimated to be over $9 million per month.
With the popularity of Backpage and the ease of posting an ad, the site has long been the preferred advertising medium for some of this country’s most ruthless adult and child sex traffickers.
It appears all three credit card companies are justifying their decision to block certain Backpage.com payments because their terms of service all include language regarding the prohibition of their cards being used for illegal or brand damaging activities.
But, don’t start celebrating if you think this move is going to cripple the prostitution advertising giant or stop the flow of ads from pimps across the country.
In response Backpage.com has, at least for now, made their adult advertising free. Which may have the exact opposite effect law enforcement intended.
Backpage.com’s lawyers are said to be combing over credit card company policies and the law to try to either force the payment processing companies to honor their card holders purchases or find a grey area in which they can operate.
One way Backpage.com is experimenting with credit card payments is to now allow members to pre-pay for future advertising. This way the credit card companies have no idea if the payments are for adult ads or for other classified advertising.
Regardless, Backpage.com is confident they can find a way for pimps and human traffickers to continue to sell our youth while they themselves make hundreds of millions of dollars facilitating the transaction.
JohnTV will continue to follow this case.
Notable Local Backpage.com Related Stories Covered by JohnTV
- 6/29/2014 – Hooker arrested for her participation in the robbery and shooting of a OKC ‘John’ – Her day job? Childcare teacher! LINK
- 1/3/2014 – Dallas pimp posts bold recruitment ad on OKC Backpage. LINK
- 11/7/2013 – Tulsa pimp sentenced for child sex trafficking. LINK
- 9/2/2011 – Oklahoma AG joins the fight against Backpage and human trafficking. LINK
- 6/16/2015 – Another OKC human sex trafficker gets probation in a deal struck by DA Prater’s office. LINK
- 5/9/2015 – UCO has its own ‘Deuce Bigalow’ as student/soccer player pleads guilty to being a male gigolo. LINK
- 3/26/2015 – UCO senior pleads guilty to operating a brothel & aiding in the prostitution of his girlfriend; As predicted, goes virtually unpunished. LINK
- 4/11/2014 – Edmond man who previously pled guilty to sex trafficking pregnant teen given probation. LINK