Web exec says Mayor McGinn doesn’t understand internet
Aug 8, 2011, 10:03 AM | Updated: Oct 10, 2012, 7:28 am
An executive from backpage.com wrote to the mayor essentially saying that McGinn doesn't understand how the internet works. (KIRO Radio/file)
(KIRO Radio/file)
A website that offers free classified ads, some featuring young women and nudity, is responding to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s criticism.
The mayor pulled city advertising from the Seattle Weekly, owned by the same company that operates backpage.com. Mayor McGinn says the website is selling sex ads and is demanding web monitoring, in-person age verification, and other protections against child predators.
In a lengthy and pointed response, an executive wrote to the mayor essentially saying that McGinn doesn’t understand how the internet works.
Carl Ferrer, backpage.com vice president, calls in-person age checks “utterly impractical” and “highly problematic for national websites. He says the mayor’s demands reflect a “misunderstanding of how […] the internet is used.” He insists backpage has a comprehensive program to protect against sex predators.
Otherwise, the backpage.com executive says his company is agreeing with all the mayor’s requests for vigilance against the abuse of underage girls.
