September 21st, 2010
Backpage.com respectfully declines the recent demand by a group of 21 state attorneys general that it close its adult classifieds website.
Backpage.com is a legal business and operates its website in accordance with all applicable laws. In response to concerns raised by the AGs in recent months, Backpage.com has increased its efforts to provide clear, legal rules to users who post classified ads and to ban users who violate those rules. While no system is perfect, even the AGs acknowledge Backpage.com’s good-faith cooperation with law enforcement.
In the last two years, Backpage.com users have posted 58 million ads and only 6 million in the adult services section. Federal and state authorities have called on Backpage.com to testify in just five cases involving alleged abuse of underage persons. Backpage.com continues to respond to valid subpoenas from law enforcement officials whose job it is to investigate, apprehend and prosecute criminals who wrongfully post illegal ads and victimize others.
Backpage.com is disappointed that the AGs have determined to shift blame from criminal predators to a legal business operator in an apparent attempt to capitalize on political opportunity during the election season.
The Internet was born. The federal government enacted laws to regulate its use and to allocate responsibilities and immunities to web operators. Backpage.com follows those laws and it declines to censor an entire section of free speech from its website.
Censorship will not create public safety nor will it rid the world of exploitation.
Tags: attorney generals, censorship
Posted in Press Releases | No Comments »
September 19th, 2010
Press Release
By Andy VanDeVoorde
On Friday, an attorney attempted to milk a tragedy by suing Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC and its related entity Backpage.com in a child predator case in which Backpage.com’s records helped convict Latasha Jewell McFarland of pimping out a minor.
The lawsuit is riddled with errors. The claim that we knowingly assisted McFarland in committing criminal acts is a lie fabricated by a trial lawyer looking for a payday. The attorney seeks to redirect blame from a convicted predator to Backpage.com, which helped prosecute the criminal.
Without our knowledge, the predator violated our terms of use. Backpage.com has stringent safeguards in place to ensure that only adults use the site. We provided the FBI with the perpetrator’s I.P. address and credit-card information.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 recognized that the very nature of the Internet meant that vast traffic depended on the ability of citizens to post directly onto websites like Backpage.com, Facebook, MySpace or eBay, or to have search engines like Google and Yahoo find postings without pre-screening or censorship. The responsibility, under the law, rests with the person supplying the post.
In the last two years, Backpage.com has had 58 million posts, of which 6 million were adult. In this vast exchange of information, law enforcement agencies have asked for our testimony in precisely five underage cases.
Because one case is too many, we have, and we will continue to, cooperate willingly with authorities.
For more information please click here.
Tags: Andy VanDeVoorde, backpage, FBI
Posted in Press Releases, Site News | No Comments »
August 18th, 2010
We have selected another user to win an iPad. Nichole, a coordinator for Lucky Strike Lanes and a frequent poster in our Jobs section, is now the proud owner of a brand new Apple iPad.
“I place hiring ads for our new venues all over the country”, Nichole said. “Backpage is always one of the first places I post. Thanks for always being inexpensive and efficient!”
The iPad giveaway isn’t over yet, though! There are still winners to be selected for September and October. Post an employment ad now for your shot at a free iPad.
You can read more about the iPad Sweepstakes giveaway here.
- Carl
Posted in Promotions, Site News | No Comments »
August 10th, 2010
In my last blog, I announced that I would be giving away free iPad’s to one job poster per month from June until September. When documenting this momentous occasion, I feel it is likely that historians will refer to this event as the “Great Backpage iPad Sweepstakes Giveaway of 2010”.
Pictured above is David holding his free iPad and some of our hardworking support staff at the backpage office.
There’s no hitch. All you have to do is post a (free) job ad on backpage.com and, bam, you’re automatically entered to win! David of Hard Eight BBQ, our first iPad winner, recently found out how easy it can be to win first hand. David told me he had been using Backpage for his hiring needs at the restaurant for quite some time.
There are still more winners to go, so get to posting! Click here to read the official contest rules.
- Carl
Posted in Promotions | 1 Comment »
June 8th, 2010
Starting June 7th, I’ll be giving away a free Apple iPad (yes, a freggin’ iPad!) to job posters every single month in July, August, September and October. We call it helping “put America back to work” with an iPad Sweepstakes giveaway! Our Job ads are free so there is no purchase necessary. To enter this contest, simply do the following:
- Post a job ad by clicking here
- Once your ad is live, Email [email protected] the link to your job posting(s) to enter.
- We will confirm your entry. Legit postings will be upgraded with free reposts and/or sponsored ads.
- Winners will be contacted by email.
- See contest rules for how to enter the contest without posting a job ad.
- Enter as often as you like.
- See contest rules for more information.
We hope rewarding four users posting legitimate ads in our jobs section helps put some of our other users back to work. Even though the economy STILL SUCKS, backpage.com has been fortunate to continue to grow. We’ve been hiring loads more staff members. They answer user emails & phone calls, patrol the site for spam, expand into cities where there is a demand and so on.
Honestly, we know we’re lucky to have such a loyal and dedicated user base. We review ALL your suggestions to improve the site features, and make ‘em happen when it makes sense for the community. It is because of you that we best our own records for ad postings and traffic month after month after month.
- Carl
To view the official contest rules, click here.
Tags: giveaway, ipad, jobs, sweepstakes
Posted in Promotions, Site News | 3 Comments »
