MasterCard Inc. said it has stopped processing the purchase of
ads on classified website Backpage.com after receiving a request to
do so from the sheriff in Cook County, Ill.
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart sent letters Monday to
MasterCard and Visa Inc., asking them to "immediately cease and
desist from allowing your credit cards to be used to place ads on
websites like Backpage.com, which we have objectively found to
promote prostitution and facilitate online sex trafficking."
The Wall Street Journal reviewed Mr. Dart's letters.
The sheriff is expected to release further information on his
efforts surrounding credit cards and Backpage.com on Wednesday.
"They are being removed as a merchant in our system based on a
request from the sheriff's office that we received," a MasterCard
spokesman said.
A spokesman for Visa didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment. A representative for Backpage.com couldn't be reached.
The announcement by MasterCard follows a decision by American
Express Co. earlier this year to stop processing ads on the "adult"
portion of the site, according to people familiar with the
matter.
It isn't the first time the website has come under attack for
the content of its ads. In 2010, attorneys general from 21 states
called on the site to close its adult-services section because of
concerns about potential sex trafficking.
In 2012, Backpage.com was split off from Village Voice Media
Holdings LLC, which published a chain of alternative
newspapers.
Access Investor Kit for American Express Co.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0258161092
Access Investor Kit for MasterCard, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US57636Q1040
Access Investor Kit for Visa, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US92826C8394
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires