Six
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - Kansas Attorney General Steve Six announced on Tuesday that he is asking a website provider for stricter restrictions on adult and personal ads.
Backpage.com recently announced that they would suspend certain sections of their adult and personals ads, but Six has urged for even more.
"We must continue to shine a light on these dark corners of the Internet where girls and young women are being victimized each and every day," Six said.
"Today's announcement by Backpage.com is a welcome step but is only the beginning in cracking down on predators who are thriving online."
Six is running for re-election this November.
Backpage.com announced that, effective immediately, it would halt certain areas of its personals and adult sections of the site. It also said that it would continue to develop technologies, features and programs specifically tailored to prevent the misuse of the site and its services.
Six announced a pair of arrests tied to an ad placed on Backpage.com one week ago which he says showed how easy traffickers of children could attract business. In both of those arrests, suspects allegedly traveled to meet with what they believed to be a 14-year-old girl with the intention of having sex.
"Only through strict review can these ads be targeted," Six said. "I am encouraged by today's announcement but I will continue to push for further restrictions and safeguards being put into place soon."
A multistate group of attorneys general have called on sites like Craigslist and Backpage.com to take down their adult ads. Backpage.com called for the creation of a multi-stakeholder national task force to create best practices in the online classifieds industry to help stop the ability to advertise illegally.