Yes – The Erotic Review (TER) is still online and active in 2026. It voluntarily blocked US access from April 2018 until December 19, 2019 during the FOSTA-SESTA period, then restored it, and has operated continuously since. But "still active" is only part of what people really want to know. Below: what TER is, how it works, its legal history, and what providers and clients say about using it in 2026.

What is The Erotic Review?

The Erotic Review launched on October 24, 1999. It's a review board: clients post ratings and written accounts of paid encounters with providers. It's not an ad directory and not a booking platform. Its main job is collecting reviews that you read for research. Since 2004 it has been owned by Treehouse Park, S.A., it operates offshore, and it hosts reviews for more than 90 cities worldwide.

There's a free tier (discussion boards and limited search) and a paid VIP tier (full reviews and advanced search). So it's reviews to read, not verified profiles to book. That's the main thing to understand about where it fits and where it doesn't. If you actually want a profile you can contact directly, with an ID-verified badge, that's a different kind of platform. Our TER alternatives page explains the difference.

Did TER get shut down?

No. TER was not seized or criminally charged. Two separate events cause the confusion, so let's split them up.

FOSTA-SESTA (2018). The law was signed on April 11, 2018, and Backpage was seized the same week. TER then voluntarily blocked all US access. According to Wikipedia, it reopened US access on December 19, 2019 and brought back the reviews it had hidden. That was the platform's own decision, not a shutdown.

The Backpage indictment. TER was named, but not charged, in the July 2018 superseding federal indictment against Backpage, which alleged a paid reciprocal-link arrangement. Former Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer testified that Backpage paid TER to keep that relationship going. The key point: the charges were against Backpage executives. TER's owner was not indicted.

For the bigger story of how FOSTA-SESTA changed this whole industry, our analysis of the post-Backpage era covers what changed and what came after.

Who owns TER and what about its founder?

TER has been owned by Treehouse Park, S.A. since 2004. Its founder, David Elms, left the company in 2009. For the record: Elms pleaded guilty in a 2010 Arizona case involving conspiracy to commit assault and was sentenced to prison; TER publicly cut ties with him in 2009. There's no evidence of any later federal case against him, and the platform today runs independently of its founder.

What do providers say about TER?

Here how people feel about it matters more than uptime. So we'll report it plainly and say who said what.

Sex workers and advocacy outlets, including firsthand accounts published by Longreads, NBC Bay Area, VICE and NOW Toronto, have described serious concerns with the review model. Providers say reviews get published without their consent, that write-ups can be hard or impossible to remove, and that the review dynamic can create pressure around services and pricing. Some call the rating of physical attributes degrading. Organised delisting campaigns (such as #delisted) started specifically to protest the review culture.

These are reported experiences and advocacy positions, not settled facts about how the platform works today, and TER hasn't confirmed the specific claims. Still, there are a lot of firsthand accounts and they're consistent, and that matters if you're deciding whether to rely on the platform. On the other side, some sex-work advocates have defended review boards in principle. They compare a positive review history to an eBay-style reputation that can make screening easier.

Is TER safe to use in 2026?

The site works and people use it, so "safe" here isn't about technical uptime. It's about the trade-offs of the model. The documented concerns are about privacy and control: reviews are public, providers say disputed ones are hard to remove, and some describe retaliation or legal threats after complaining publicly. For clients the limit is different. A review, however detailed, doesn't prove that the profile you end up contacting is real.

That gap between "well-reviewed" and "identity-verified" is the core issue. A strong review history tells you what other people reported. It doesn't confirm the person is who the photos say. How to actually check identity before booking is in our guide to spotting escort scams in 2026, and our review of platform verification methods compares how different platforms do it.

The TER alternatives comparison shows what a directory with ID checks does differently, and you can browse US listings directly.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Erotic Review still online in 2026?

Yes. The site is live and listed as active. US access, which TER voluntarily blocked in 2018, was restored on December 19, 2019.

Did the FBI shut down TER?

No. TER was not seized or charged. It voluntarily blocked US access during 2018–2019 and was named, but not charged, in the Backpage indictment.

Who owns The Erotic Review?

Treehouse Park, S.A., which bought it in 2004. Founder David Elms left the company in 2009.

Can a provider remove a bad or fake review on TER?

Providers say it's very difficult. Several firsthand accounts describe TER turning down removal requests, though the platform hasn't publicly explained its current removal policy.

Is TER free?

Partly. Discussion boards and limited search are free. Full reviews and advanced search are behind a paid VIP tier.

Does a TER review verify a provider is real?

No. A review is one past client's account. It doesn't prove the profile you contact is genuine. Identity verification is a separate step.