My sense is that, in most cases, sex workers do not act as their own agents, so I see backpage as a platform catering to pimps et al.
Though I guess there's an argument to be made that sites like backpage make it easier for sex workers to disintermediate pimps, which I imagine would be a good thing.
Your sense is totally wrong. Sites like craigslist and backpage make it easier for sex workers to pre screen johns. Cold street approaches are nearly impossible to screen and very dangerous, hence pimps. This shutdown further entrenches the dominance of pimps over sex workers and makes sex work significantly more dangerous.
Just fyi, you are mistaken. That is the whole reason they have to force/traffick people and trap them rather than just recruit. Anyone here legally and does that sort of sex work has mostly moved away from the pimps.
> Though I guess there's an argument to be made that sites like backpage make it easier for sex workers to disintermediate pimps, which I imagine would be a good thing.
Legal adult citizens who were prostitutes were doing exactly that.
Pretty much since "online personals" became a thing, sex workers quickly removed all the intermediaries beyond the ads.
Right from their phone. There are even Geocities-like web services that they can get a webpage at that have built-in screening workflows. And screening-agent-as-a-service's exist that will middleman for the sex worker.
Shutting down online marketplaces removes the safest options that sex workers have.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml...