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The Latest Breaking News from Backpage

Backpage Founder Michael Lacey Released on Bail

Lacey can await the resolution of his appeal outside of prison.

Reason

A Bad Election for Sex and for Tech

No matter who wins, we can expect bad policies surrounding sex and especially surrounding technology.

Reason

How the Feds Destroyed Backpage.com and Its Founders

By prosecuting the website's founders, the government chilled free speech online and ruined lives.

Reason

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
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Watch Now: Classified: The War on Backpage.com

Reason's new documentary is now streaming on the video platform CiVL. I hope you'll watch.

Reason

Reason's New Documentary on Backpage.com Is Streaming Exclusively on CiVL

The film ties together years of reporting on a legal saga with broad implications for both free speech and sex work.

Reason

A History of Harris Positions on Sex Work

Harris' campaign hasn't said where she stands now. But she's historically taken a tough stance against prostitution and especially against men who pay for it.

Reason

Deplatforming Doesn't Make Sex Work Safer

Another study shows FOSTA failed.

Reason

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Backpage's Michael Lacey Gets 5-Year Sentence

Plus: New York authorities set seized weed on fire, Pavel Durov charged by French authorities, and more...

Reason

Backpage.com founder Michael Lacey sentenced to 5 years in prison for money laundering

Backpage

The Independent UK

Putin and the Ayatollah Wanted To Censor This App. Now It's Macron's Turn.

French police arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov for failing to control his social media and messaging app.

Reason

Feds Seek 20-Year Sentence for Backpage Co-Founder Michael Lacey

It's an insane ask for someone convicted of just one nonviolent offense.

Reason

Kamala’s tech ties: what is Harris’s relationship with Silicon Valley?

Harris’s track record, and time as California senator and AG, has tech leaders wondering if she’d have a friendlier approach to the industry

The Guardian - US

The Worst Section 230 Bill Yet

New bipartisan legislation would sunset Section 230 after next year.

Reason

Judge Acquits Backpage Co-Founder Michael Lacey on Most Counts

The court found insufficient evidence to sustain 53 of 84 remaining counts against Lacey.

Reason

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news in one place.

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Reason

Feds Will Try Backpage Co-Founder Michael Lacey for a Third Time

It's a frightening reminder of how far the government will go to get their way—and to warn tech companies against platforming speech it doesn't like.

Reason

This NRA Supreme Court Case Has Big Implications for Porn

The ACLU will represent the gun rights group in a case with widespread relevance for free speech.

Reason

The Backpage Defendants Never Stood a Chance

Moral panic plus government power is an inescapably potent combination.

Reason

The World's First Libertarian President

Plus: A listener asks the editors about libertarians and "reflexive contrarianism."

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news in one place.

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Reason

My Own Personal Evita

Plus: OpenAI apocalypse, New York's problematic pie, Backpage trial concludes, and more...

Reason

Backpage: The Monumental Free Speech Case the Media Ignored

The mere act of publishing sex ads online is enough to send most potential free speech allies scurrying for the exits.

The Guardian - US

Ex-owners of sex work site Backpage convicted of prostitution scheme

Michael Lacey, Scott Spear and John Brunst, all men in their 70s, created complicated system to try to outwit US government

Reason

Tunnel Found

Plus: Hospital shafts, poetry holes, Osama bin Laden, Randi Weingarten, and more...

The Independent UK

Jurors hear opposite views of whether Backpage founder knew the site was running sex ads

Jurors at the criminal trial of a founder of the classified site Backpage

The Independent UK

Opening statements begin in website founder's 2nd trial over ads promoting prostitution

Federal prosecutors in Phoenix say a founder of the classified ad site Backpage

The Independent UK

Backpage founder faces trial over what prosecutors say was a scheme to sell ads for sex

A founder of Backpage faces second trial over what prosecutors say was a scheme to sell ads for sex

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