In my research, I have learned some new things. The petition will be taking a slight turn, and I think that with pressure, we can make an impact on the situation! In the article from Morning Call below, I read about very successful sting operations on Backpage.com. I called the number attached and learned that Backpage varies by the location it is used in; activity can vary from place to place and the site is different based on where it’s being accessed from. When I mentioned Backpage altering ads and asked if Backpage hinders Police with its actions, my concerns were confirmed. It helps by the fact that it’s an easy place to catch predators, but Backpage does alter its ads, hiding the truth behind the ad, which can sometimes make it more difficult for police to tell whether it is a sex trafficking situation or not. (Not only that, this could prevent concerned parents from reporting the ad). Even though the police can usually tell, it is still a hinderance to them. On the phone call, he also brought up that Backpage had avoided liability, to which I said that I had read about that. He also said that people have different opinions throughout the police force. Either way, Backpage is not helping the police in these situations. If anything, they are making it worse. In the CBS News article below (which had been on the original post of the petition and will remain in this update; I have reread the article and considered it with the new information) a girl that was a trafficking victim says that Backpage is negligent. Not only that, but Backpage earns 90% of its ad revenue from their adult ads. It only gets much worse. With all the research and articles compiled together, it’s an easy conclusion that Backpage is knowingly negligent and concealing evidence, which is hindering the efforts of those trying to solve the issue. Please don’t forget to read these articles and research while also spreading the word! There is one more thing to mention. The petition will be making a slight turn as I said before. I believe that we can pressure Backpage more. It was already pressured into removing its dating section, but that’s not enough. We need to stand up and make Backpage cooperate with police. No more ad alterations, no hindering stings. Backpage needs to fully help police clean up their site and stop avoiding liability for the mess it is allowing to happen on its site. The sex trafficking has to stop, and Backpage must realize that and change its ways. If they don’t change and help police, we will make them shut down! With as many signatures as possible, we can ask the Justice Department to add on the pressure along with us. Backpage needs to comply and be responsible for their actions, as well as all the people exploiting others on the site! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/backpage-website-investigation-sex-trafficking-prostitution/ http://www.mcall.com/news/police/mc-nws-poconos-live-backpage-prostitution-sting-20170724-story.html