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Connecticut's Blumenthal, Along With Other AGs, Calls for Closure of Backpage.co

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Ohio

Attorneys general from 21 states on Tuesday called on Village Voice Media's Backpage.com to close its adult services section, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.

The move follows Craigslist.org's shuttering its own controversial adult services section earlier this month, which Blumenthal and other attorneys general claimed ran advertisements for prostitution.

“Adult services sections are little more than online brothels, enabling human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children,” Blumenthal said. “Because Backpage cannot properly police adult services, the section should be shut down immediately.”

In a statement, Blumenthal claimed Backpage.com was expected to earn an estimated $17.5 million from prostitution ads this year.

In addition to Connecticut, other states calling for the closure are: Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

In a letter sent to Backpage.com's lawyer, the attorneys general say Backpage.com has indicated that prostitution advertisements began migrating to its personals section once it started charging for ads in the adult services section. As a result, the company is also charging for ads in the personals section.

“We urge you to take additional efforts, such as manual review of each ad in theses sections of the personals—and others if it becomes necessary—before ads are posted,” the attorneys general said in their letter.

The letter notes that Backpage.com has taken steps to respond to their concerns about prostitution ads and the company has cooperated since the attorneys general began their probe in 2009.

Backpage.com didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/09/…