''The Erotic Review'', also functioning as TheEroticReview.com, is a
review site that ostensibly presents clients' assessments of their experiences with
sex workers
A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is vo ...
(referred to as "providers" on the website).
History
The service was first launched in 1999 by David Elms, who came up with the idea after having what he described as a "bad encounter" with a
call girl
A call girl or female escort is a prostitute who (unlike a street prostitution, street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by ...
.
''The Erotic Review'' website was acquired by Treehouse Park in 2004.
On April 6, 2018, the U.S. Congress passed the
Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act
FOSTA (Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) and SESTA (Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act) are U.S. Senate and House Bill (law), bills which became law on April 11, 2018. They clarify the country's sex trafficking in the ...
; following this and the FBI shutting down
Backpage
Backpage was a classified advertising website founded in 2004 by the alternative newspaper chain New Times Inc./New Times Media (later known as Village Voice Media or VVM) as a rival to Craigslist.
Similar to Craigslist, Backpage let users po ...
and other websites promoting or facilitating in prostitution, ''The Erotic Review'' blocked access to its site from the United States until December 2019, though it could still be accessed in the United States via a
VPN
Virtual private network (VPN) is a network architecture for virtually extending a private network (i.e. any computer network which is not the public Internet) across one or multiple other networks which are either untrusted (as they are not c ...
.
On July 25, 2018, ''The Erotic Review'' was mentioned in a superseding indictment filed by the government against Backpage.com. The superseding indictment alleges that Backpage and ''The Erotic Review'' had a reciprocal link agreement, where both parties allowed ads to be posted on their sites. The indictment alleges that Backpage paid “tens of thousands” of dollars to ''The Erotic Review'' for this agreement.
On December 19, 2019, ''The Erotic Review'' again opened access to the United States without needing VPN, restoring previously hidden USA escort reviews and allowing new USA escort reviews to be posted.
Content and readership
A 2008 ''
River Front Times
The ''Riverfront Times'' (''RFT'') was a free progressive weekly newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri, that consisted of local politics, music, arts, and dining news in the print edition, and daily updates to blogs and photo galleries on its website ...
'' article features Elms commenting that the average site-user was "between 35 and 55 years old with a median income of $80,000".
''The Erotic Review'' hosts reviews for over 90 cities around the world.
[ The site offers both a free and paid membership. Free members can access site features such as the ]discussion boards
Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
and a limited search function. Paid members have additional features such as the ability to access complete reviews and a search page that allows the user to search based on various criteria such as physical attributes.
Criticism
The site has been met with criticism, most of which centered upon its founder. Some critics have claimed that Elms has accepted bribes to promote certain agencies or call girls and has pressured others into providing sexual favors.Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, for hiring a hit man
Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
to assault a business rival, and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison that same year.
Further reading
*
See also
* Punternet
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erotic Review
Internet properties established in 1999
American erotica and pornography websites
Prostitution in the United States
American review websites
1999 establishments in the United States