Backpage Vs Feds: An Inside Glimpse Part II
As readers familiar with the sordid saga of Tony Ortega’s “Free Speech Champions” might recall from our earlier reporting, Backpage, the platform that brought the federal government down on Michael Lacey and James Larkin’s heads, itself wasn’t much to look at. It was little more than a bare-bones interface wrapped in knock-off Facebook blue. From the beginning it was similar to Craigslist in both form and function. Even its name was something of a callback to the old days of print publishing, when classified ads (especially racier ads for topless bars, escort services, and other sexually oriented businesses) filled the final pages of alt-weeklies.