Make No Law: “Deplatformed” | Popehat

En Passant and Sevesteen made a point similar to something that has been bugging me.

In the Feds vs myredbook.com, the owner was jailed for facilitating prostitution. Here the owner will be called “Red”.

It was obvious to all that the myredbook’s reason to exist was to share information about prostitution. Both “providers” and “hobbyists” could post messages. Membership was free. There were free ads for providers limited to one post per day. Providers could pay for better ad placement. Comments were not allowed on ads. All members could post in the various geographical or special interest forums.

Hobbyists could post to the review site. Red provided free access to recent reviews. For a fee, anyone could get access to all reviews with a search feature.

Red did what he could to prevent discussion of underage providers. Both ‘underage’ and ‘jailbait’ were prohibited words on his site. So much so that posts containing either word were automatically never posted. Red refused to comment on the forbidden word list.

I remember reading about one of the feds’ arguments accusing him, not his users, of publishing prostitution facilitating messages. Red had an acronym forum. For example BJ is blowjob, CBJ is covered or condom BJ and BBBJ is bareback BJ. FS meant Full Service or BJ with PiV, each with C and BB modifiers. There were codes for other items as well. MILF is well understood and GMILF meant grandmother….

To my mind, making an acronym forum was an attempt at making a common language for communication on his site. That, in itself, should not have been evidence that Red was facilitating prostitution. But clearly, myredbook made the business of prostitution easier for both seller and buyer.

I have to assume that if Red learned of a provider mentioned on his site was less than eighteen that he would kill the mention. Did Red make money with his site? I have to assume it was not simply a labor of love.

Killing the site made problems for providers. No longer could they easily consult a good guy’s list. Those who were in desperate need of cash would have to be involved in riskier street sales. Local cops no longer could make hooker busts as easily.

I believe that prostitution should not be a crime. (Decriminalization, not legalization, please.) Providers would still be at risk from abusive clients but at least they could report assaults. Is it sex trafficking if a lady pays her own way from China to California and sets up a sexual services shop in her apartment?

Is entrance on a visitor visa and then working a problem? Then charge her with that.