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"Backpage.com and the prostitution law that could take down Twitter, YouTube, and Wikipedia"
Reply to: by kylealden
The only hole I see in all this “oh noes the sky is falling”: The law, as written, sets a fine for knowingly publishing, disseminating, etc. commercial sex acts in WA involving a minor.
I guess it depends on the statutory construction but so long as the “knowingly” applies to WA and Minor, this seems like a pretty solid law. No, the burden of policing and verifying content like this shouldn’t apply to every site like Twitter that uses real-time user generated info. At the same time, sites like Backpage that probably know this is going on should be help accountable if and when they get caught.
Put another way: A teenager could advertise sexual services on Twitter, and Twitter shouldn’t be held accountable unless it is demonstrably turning a blind eye despite knowing about it. Backpage, however, exists by turning a blind eye to sexual services, and if you can prove they know some of the advertisers involve minors, they should absolutely be held accountable.
Reply to: by kylealden
The only hole I see in all this “oh noes the sky is falling”: The law, as written, sets a fine for knowingly publishing, disseminating, etc. commercial sex acts in WA involving a minor.
I guess it depends on the statutory construction but so long as the “knowingly” applies to WA and Minor, this seems like a pretty solid law. No, the burden of policing and verifying content like this shouldn’t apply to every site like Twitter that uses real-time user generated info. At the same time, sites like Backpage that probably know this is going on should be help accountable if and when they get caught.
Put another way: A teenager could advertise sexual services on Twitter, and Twitter shouldn’t be held accountable unless it is demonstrably turning a blind eye despite knowing about it. Backpage, however, exists by turning a blind eye to sexual services, and if you can prove they know some of the advertisers involve minors, they should absolutely be held accountable.