Backpage

{{short description|Defunct classified advertising website}} {{about||the Australian television series|Back Page Live{{!}}''Back Page Live''|the American films|Back Page (film){{!}}''Back Page'' (film)|and|The Back Page (film){{!}}''The Back Page'' (film)}} {{Use American English|date =May 2014}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox website | name = Backpage | logo = | screenshot = Backpage screenshot.png | caption = | collapsible = | collapsetext = | url =  | registration = | language = English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Russian, Chinese, Finnish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, and Turkish | num_users = | owner = Atlantische Bedrijven CV<br/>Former owner: Village Voice Media | revenue = | current_status = Shut down by the United States FBI; domain now defunct | footnotes = | company_type = Web communications | traded_as = | launch_date = {{start date|2004}} | dissolved = {{end date|2018|04|06}} | location = | locations = | incorporated = | founder = | chairperson = | president = | CEO = | MD = | GM = | key_people = | industry = | products = | services = | operating_income = | net_income = | assets = | equity = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | programming_language = | ipv6 = | website_type = | advertising = | intl = | native_clients = }} '''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.<ref name="wired.com">{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2019|first=Christine |last=Biederman|title=Inside Backpage.com's Vicious Battle With the Feds |work=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|access-date=May 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618114540/https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|archive-date=June 18, 2019}}</ref>

Similar to Craigslist, Backpage let users post ads to categories such as personals, automotive, rentals, jobs and adult services. It soon became the second largest online classified site in the United States.<ref name="kiefer">{{cite news |last=Kiefer |first=Michael |date=September 23, 2012 |title=Phoenix New Times founders selling company |work=The Arizona Republic |location=Phoenix, Arizona |url=http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20120922phoenix-new-times-founders-selling.html |access-date=December 1, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710003832/http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20120922phoenix-new-times-founders-selling.html |archive-date=2021-07-10}}</ref>

Craigslist closed its "Adult Services" section in 2010 in response to pressure from state attorneys general and other critics claiming the section facilitated prostitution.<ref>{{Cite magazine|first=Ryan |last=Singel |date=September 15, 2010 |title='Adult Services' Shutdown Is Permanent, Craigslist Tells Congress|language=en-US|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/09/adult-services-shutdown-is-permanent-craigslist-tells-congress/|access-date=May 28, 2021|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Much of Craigslist's share of the adult ad market migrated to other sites, with Backpage being the main beneficiary.<ref name="wired.com" />

Craigslist's former critics focused on Backpage, which resisted moves to censor the site until January 2017; Backpage closed their adult section prior to a Congressional hearing.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown |date=January 10, 2017 |title=Backpage Shutters 'Adult' Ads Section Following Years of Government Bullying|url=https://reason.com/2017/01/10/backpage-shutters-adult-ad-section/|access-date=May 28, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==

=== ''New Times'' and founding of Backpage ===

Backpage founder Michael Lacey founded the ''Phoenix New Times'' in 1970, saying it was a response to the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings. Backpage co-founder Jim Larkin joined the ''New Times'' in 1971.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/about|access-date=June 1, 2021|website=Phoenix New Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Can New Owner Michael Lacey Make the Village Voice Relevant Again? |url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/14987/|access-date=June 1, 2021|website=New York Magazine|date=November 3, 2005 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="reason.com"/> The ''New Times''' papers were free and relied on advertising. The ''New Times'' especially relied on classified advertising to earn money.<ref name="reason.com">{{Cite web|date=August 21, 2018|title=The Senate Accused Them of Selling Kids for Sex. The FBI Raided Their Homes. Backpage.com's Founders Speak for the First Time.|url=https://reason.com/2018/08/21/backpage-founders-larkin-and-lacey-speak/|access-date=June 1, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

Due to the rise of Craigslist, a classified-ads website that competed with newspapers for advertising revenue, Lacey and Larkin in 2004 founded Backpage.com, which ''Wired'' magazine described as "a bare-bones interface wrapped in Facebooky blue, similar to Craigslist in form and function."<ref name="web.archive.org">{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2019|title=Inside Backpage.com's Vicious Battle With the Feds |magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618114540/https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 18, 2019|access-date=June 1, 2021}}</ref> The site's name was a nod to the classified ads in the back section of every ''New Times'' paper, "culminating in a premium-priced ad showcase on the paper's back page."<ref name="reason.com" /> The idea for Backpage.com came from ''New Times'' salesman Carl Ferrer; Larkin put him in charge of the new venture.<ref name="web.archive.org" />

Backpage helped sustain first ''New Times''', then Village Voice Media's papers, and expanded to become the second-largest online classifieds site next to Craigslist.<ref>{{Cite web|first1=Michael |last=Kiefer|date=September 22, 2012 |title=Phoenix New Times founders selling company|url=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/09/22/20120922phoenix-new-times-founders-selling.html|access-date=June 1, 2021|website=The Arizona Republic|archive-date=September 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926221849/http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/09/22/20120922phoenix-new-times-founders-selling.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lacey and Larkin sold Village Voice Media to company executives in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stern|first=Ray|date=September 27, 2012|title=Michael Lacey Talks About Selling New Times and Village Voice Media to Trusted Colleagues|url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/michael-lacey-talks-about-selling-new-times-and-village-voice-media-to-trusted-colleagues-6455780|access-date=June 1, 2021|website=Phoenix New Times}}</ref> The pair sold Backpage to Ferrer in 2015.<ref name="web.archive.org" />

Craigslist and Backpage had listings for a variety of goods and services, such as real estate, yard sales, personals, work wanted and jobs offered. Backpage's adult-themed advertising section gained the most attention.<ref name="reason.com" />

After Craigslist took down its adult advertising section in 2010, Backpage continued to maintain adult advertising on its site. As Backpage's popularity grew, the site's adult advertising section began to attract lawsuits and investigations regarding allegations of prostitution and sex trafficking.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Singel-Minded: Craigslist Took One for the Open Internet|language=en-US|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/09/craigslist-open-internet/|access-date=June 2, 2021|issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref name="politicosep15">{{Cite news|title=Kamala Harris helped shut down Backpage.com. Sex workers are still feeling the fallout. |work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/15/kamala-harris-prostitution-crackdown-00177298|date = September 15, 2024}}</ref>

=== Adult advertising === After Craigslist ended its adult advertising section after pressure from law enforcement and anti-sex trafficking advocates, some adult listings almost immediately migrated to the Backpage's "personals" section.<ref name="politicosep15"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Fowler|first=Geoffrey A.|date=September 7, 2010|title=Craigslist Step Won't End Fight|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704392104575475972114109814|access-date=June 3, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mehlman-Orozco|first=Kimberly|title=Why cracking down on websites won't stop online sex trafficking|url=https://news.trust.org/item/20180302174534-se03q/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Thomson Reuters Foundation}}</ref> They scattered to other sites as well, but Backpage, already number two in the classified ads market, received most of the post-Craigslist-era adult-content migrated listings.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2019|title=Inside Backpage.com's Vicious Battle With the Feds |website=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618114540/https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 18, 2019|access-date=June 3, 2021}}</ref> Many of the same controversies regarding content moderation and adult advertising that plagued Craigslist would now target Backpage.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Backpage.com Succumbing to Government Is Blow to Free Speech Online|url=https://cdt.org/press/backpage-com-succumbing-to-government-is-blow-to-free-speech-online/|access-date=June 3, 2021|website=Center for Democracy and Technology|language=en-US}}</ref>

In an internal email after Craigslist's takedown of its adult category, CEO Ferrer said it was "an opportunity for us. Also a time when we need to make sure our content is not illegal".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Biederman|first=Christine|date=June 18, 2019|title=Inside Backpage.com's Vicious Battle With the Feds|url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|website=Wired}}</ref>

In September 2010, a Missouri girl sued Village Voice Media, claiming that she had been trafficked at age 14 via ads placed on the site, and that Backpage had been negligent.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 17, 2010|title=Mo. girl sues Village Voice Media over sex ads |first=Jim |last=Salter |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/mo-girl-sues-village-voice-media-over-sex-ads/|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US}}</ref> A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, based on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Patrick|first=Robert|title=Federal judge dismisses teen's sex trafficking lawsuit against website|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/federal-judge-dismisses-teens-sex-trafficking-lawsuit-against-website/article_9fca7a02-c8f0-11e0-b267-0019bb30f31a.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=August 17, 2011 |language=en}}</ref>

A month after the suit was filed, Backpage hired former federal prosecutor and NCMEC board member Hemanshu Nigam to come up with a strategic plan to combat the misuse of the site for trafficking. Nigam and Backpage consulted with anti-trafficking organizations about measures to take, such as preventing the use of suggestive terms such as "Lolita", "incest" and "new in town". According to ''Wired'', Backpage had implemented most of these new protocols by January 2011.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Biederman|first=Christine|date=June 18, 2019|title=Inside Backpage.com's Vicious Battle With the Feds|url=https://www.wired.com/story/inside-backpage-vicious-battle-feds/|magazine=Wired}}</ref>

In October 2011, in a full-page ad in ''The New York Times'', 36 clergymen demanded that VVM and Backpage remove the latter's adult classifieds section, citing reports of adult ads connected to underage prostitution, stating, "Even if one minor is sold for sex, it is one too many."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Carr|first=David|date=October 31, 2011|title=Fighting Over Online Sex Ads|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/business/media/backpagecom-confronts-new-fight-over-online-sex-ads.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In a response to the ad, VVM asserted that it had "extensive working relationships with law enforcement from FBI to the local police", and claiming it had "spent millions of dollars and dedicated countless resources to protecting children from those who would misuse an adult site".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Media|first=Village Voice|date=October 25, 2011|title=Village Voice Media Responds to Clergy|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/village-voice-media-responds-to-clergy-6559497|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Miami New Times}}</ref>

According to both ''Reason'' and ''Wired'', law enforcement and Backpage frequently cooperated, with Backpage receiving praise from various police agencies for its help in finding trafficked persons and convicting their exploiters. In May 2011, the FBI awarded a certificate of recognition to Ferrer, then VP of Backpage, "for your outstanding cooperation and assistance in connection with an investigation of great importance."<ref name="wired.com" /><ref name="reason.com" />

In November 2011, the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women organized a demonstration outside of ''The Village Voice''{{'}}s offices in New York City, with some people chanting slogans and waving signs in protest against "Backpage.com's facilitation of sex trafficking".<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 16, 2011|title=Village Voice HQ Is Being Protested for 'Facilitation of Sex Trafficking'|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/11/16/village-voice-hq-is-being-protested-for-facilitation-of-sex-trafficking/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913084248/https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/11/16/village-voice-hq-is-being-protested-for-facilitation-of-sex-trafficking/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2018|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=The Village Voice}}</ref>

=== Backpage and ''Village Voice'' split === Increasingly, Backpage critics and law enforcement accused Backpage of being a hub for sex trafficking of both adults and minors<ref name="Alabama2017-01-25" /><ref name="CNN-lurid">{{cite web|last1=Feyerick|first1=Deborah|last2=Steffen|first2=Sheila|date=May 10, 2012|title=A lurid journey through Backpage.com|url=http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/10/a-lurid-journey-through-backpage-com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513215204/http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/10/a-lurid-journey-through-backpage-com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 13, 2012|access-date=January 21, 2016 |work=CNN}}</ref><ref name="forbes1">{{cite magazine|last=Fisher|first=Daniel|title=Backpage Takes Heat, But Prostitution Ads Are Everywhere|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/01/26/backpages-takes-heat-for-prostitution-ads-that-are-everywhere/|magazine=Forbes|access-date=November 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kristof|first=Nicholas|date=January 25, 2012|title=Opinion {{!}} How Pimps Use the Web to Sell Girls|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/how-pimps-use-the-web-to-sell-girls.html|access-date=April 15, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> despite claims by the website that it sought to block ads suspected of child sex trafficking or prostitution{{cn|reason=Previously there was a manual link to a nonexistent footnote here|date=January 2026}} and reported hundreds per month to the NCMEC, which in turn notified law enforcement.<ref name="CNN-lurid"/><ref name="irvine"/>{{verify inline|reason=Previously cited with manual, incorrectly numbered links to nonexistent anchors. This fix is a matter of guesswork|date=January 2026}}

Backpage supporters claimed that by providing prompt and detailed information about suspicious postings to law enforcement, including phone numbers, credit card numbers and IP addresses, the website helped protect minors from trafficking. They contended that shutting down Backpage would drive traffickers to other places on the internet that would be less forthcoming about crucial information for law enforcement.<ref name="irvine">{{cite news|last=Irvine|first=Martha|date=August 16, 2015|title=Backpage ad site: Aider of traffickers, or way to stop them?|newspaper=Seattle Times|location=Seattle, Washington|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/backpage-ad-site-aider-of-traffickers-or-way-to-stop-them/|access-date=February 17, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Forbes2">{{cite web|last=Ruvolo|first=Julie|date=June 26, 2012|title=Sex, Lies and Suicide: What's Wrong with the War on Sex Trafficking|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/julieruvolo/2012/06/26/sex-lies-and-suicide-whats-wrong-with-the-war-on-sex-trafficking/#1f828246b392205ffdc86b39|access-date=January 21, 2016|work=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=J. B.|date=November 17, 2016|title=America's top online brothel a critical tool for law enforcement|newspaper=TheHill|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/crime/306533-americas-top-online-brothel-is-critical-tool-for-law-enforcement/|access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref>

Numerous writers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) legal experts and law enforcement officials including the Electronic Frontier Foundation,<ref name="eff1">{{cite web|author=|date=December 6, 2012|title=Washington State Drops Defense of Unconstitutional Sex Trafficking Law|url=https://www.eff.org/press/releases/washington-state-drops-defense-unconstitutional-sex-trafficking-law|access-date=February 21, 2016| publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref><ref name="eff.org">{{cite web|last=Reitman|first=Rainey|date=July 6, 2015|title=Caving to Government Pressure, Visa and MasterCard Shut Down Payments to Backpage.com|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/07/caving-government-pressure-visa-and-mastercard-shut-down-payments-backpagecom|access-date=January 20, 2016|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref> the Internet Archive,<ref name="internet-archive">{{cite court|litigants=Backpage.com and The Internet Archive v. Rob McKenna |court=United States District Court, Western District of Washington at Seattle|date=December 10, 2012|url=http://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2012-12-10-Judgment.pdf|access-date=January 20, 2016}}</ref> and the Cato Institute,<ref name="cato1">{{cite court|litigants=Backpage v Dart|court=United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|date=October 23, 2015|url=http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/backpage-v-dar.pdf|access-date=January 20, 2016}}</ref> argued that freedom of speech and potentially the internet itself would be threatened if adult-themed ads were prohibited on Backpage. These groups cited both the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act,<ref name="Techdirt-Masnick">{{cite web|last=Masnick|first=Mike|date=February 8, 2016|title=20 Years Ago Today: The Most Important Law On The Internet Was Signed, Almost By Accident|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160208/00235033544/20-years-ago-today-most-important-law-internet-was-signed-almost-accident.shtml|access-date=February 21, 2016|website=Techdirt}}</ref> which holds that service providers were not liable for content produced by third parties.<ref name="Techdirt-Masnick" /><ref name="Forbes3">{{cite web|last=Goldman|first=Eric|date=July 30, 2016|title=Overzealous Legislative Effort Against Online Child Prostitution Ads at Backpage Fails, Providing a Big Win for User-Generated Content|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericgoldman/2012/07/30/child-prostitution-ads-backpage-legislative-fail/#611b75c13713|access-date=January 21, 2016|work=Forbes}}</ref>

In 2012, at the behest of a number of NGOs including Fair Girls and NCMEC, Fitzgibbon Media (at the time, a well-known progressive/liberal public relations agency) created a multimedia campaign to garner support for the anti-Backpage position. They enlisted support from musicians, politicians, journalists, media companies and retailers.

alt=Nick Kristof|left|thumb|''New York Times'' columnist Nicholas Kristof (left) wrote several pieces denouncing Village Voice Media; VVM responded by criticizing Kristof's journalism.

The Fitzgibbon campaign created a greater public dialogue, both pro and con, regarding Backpage.<ref name="fitzgibbon">{{cite web|author=|title=Exposing Backpage.com|url=http://www.fitzgibbonmedia.com/casestudies/exposing-backpage/|access-date=January 21, 2016|publisher=Fitzgibbon Media}}</ref> Some companies, including H&M, IKEA, and Barnes & Noble, canceled ads for publications owned by Village Voice Media. Over 230,000 people including 600 religious leaders, 51 attorneys general, 19 U.S. senators, over 50 non-governmental associations, musician Alicia Keys, and members of R.E.M., The Roots, and Alabama Shakes petitioned the website to remove sexual content.<ref name="CNN-lurid" />

''New York Times'' columnist Nicholas Kristof authored a number of columns criticizing Backpage,<ref name="teenagers">{{Cite news|last=Kristof|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Kristof|date=November 1, 2014|title=Teenagers Stand Up to Backpage|journal=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/opinion/sunday/teenagers-stand-up-to-backpage.html|access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref><ref name="NYT-Kristof1">{{Cite news|last=Kristof|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Kristof|date=March 17, 2012|title=Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods|journal=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/kristof-where-pimps-peddle-their-goods.html|access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref><ref name="name=NYT-Kristof2">{{Cite news|last=Kristof|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Kristof|date=March 31, 2012|title=Financers and Sex Trafficking|journal=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/opinion/sunday/kristof-financers-and-sex-trafficking.html|access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref> to which Backpage publicly responded.<ref name="VV1">{{cite web|author=|date=March 21, 2012|title=What Nick Kristof Didn't Tell You in his Sunday Column about Backpage.com|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/what-nick-kristof-got-wrong-village-voice-media-responds-6434355|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212042754/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/what-nick-kristof-got-wrong-village-voice-media-responds-6434355|archive-date=December 12, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=June 22, 2021|website=Village Voice}}</ref> In a March 17, 2012, column, "Where Pimps Peddle Their Goods", Kristof told the story of a young woman whose "street name" was Alissa. Kristof wrote that pimps had coerced Alissa into a life of prostitution and posted ads for her on Backpage while she was underage. He also urged mainstream advertisers to boycott Village Voice Media and linked to a Change.org petition asking VVM to stop allowing its users to post adult ads on Backpage.

In response to the article, the ''Village Voice'' criticized Kristof's reporting, noting that Backpage had not existed in the cities where Alissa had been prostituted at the time she was underage. The unsigned ''Voice'' article also contended that Backpage dedicated "hundreds of staff to screen adult classifieds in order to keep juveniles off the site and to work proactively with law enforcement in their efforts to locate victims".<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 12, 2016|title=What Nick Kristof Got Wrong: Village Voice Media Responds |website=Village Voice|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/what-nick-kristof-got-wrong-village-voice-media-responds-6434355|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212042754/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/what-nick-kristof-got-wrong-village-voice-media-responds-6434355|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 12, 2016|access-date=June 22, 2021}}</ref>

In 2012, Village Voice Media separated its newspaper company, which then consisted of 13 weekly alternative newspapers and their affiliated web properties from Backpage, leaving Backpage in the control of shareholders Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin.<ref name="Sept. 23">{{Cite web|date=September 26, 2012|first=Michael |last=Kiefer |work=The Arizona Republic |title=Phoenix New Times founders selling company|url=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/09/22/20120922phoenix-new-times-founders-selling.html|access-date=June 22, 2021|archive-date=September 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926221849/http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/09/22/20120922phoenix-new-times-founders-selling.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In interviews with Phoenix media, Lacey explained that the controversies over Backpage had become "a distraction" for the editors of VVM's papers<ref name="Sept. 23"/> and that Backpage had come to monopolize his and Larkin's time.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stern|first=Ray|date=September 27, 2012|title=Michael Lacey Talks About Selling New Times and Village Voice Media to Trusted Colleagues|url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/michael-lacey-talks-about-selling-new-times-and-village-voice-media-to-trusted-colleagues-6455780|access-date=June 22, 2021|website=Phoenix New Times}}</ref>

Executives for the spinoff holding company, called Voice Media Group (VMG) and based in Denver, raised "some money from private investors" in order to purchase the newspapers;<ref name="Reuters-9-24-2012">{{cite news|last1=Francescani|first1=Chris|first2=Nadia |last2=Damouni|date=September 24, 2012|title=Village Voice newspaper chain to split from controversial ad site|work=Reuters|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-villagevoice-backpage-idINBRE88N04020120924|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208213232/http://in.reuters.com/article/us-usa-villagevoice-backpage-idINBRE88N04020120924|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 8, 2015|access-date=December 1, 2015}}</ref> the executives who formed the new company were lower-ranked than Lacey and Larkin.<ref name="Hardyreq">{{cite magazine|last=Hardy |first=Michael|date=December 14, 2017|title=Requiem for an Alt-Weekly|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/requiem-alt-weekly-houston-press/|magazine=Texas Observer|access-date=December 14, 2017}}</ref> In December 2014, Village Voice Media sold Backpage to a Dutch holding company. Carl Ferrer, the founder of Backpage, remained as CEO of the company.<ref name="DBJ-Kezar">{{Citation|last=Kezar|first=Korri|title=Backpage.com sold to Dutch company for undisclosed amount|date=December 30, 2014|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2014/12/30/backpage-com-sold-to-dutch-company-for-undisclosed.html|location=Dallas|publisher=Dallas Business Journal|access-date=December 1, 2015}}</ref> Michael Hardy of the ''Texas Observer'' stated that since Lacey and Larkin remained at Backpage, "it would be more accurate to say that Backpage spun off Village Voice Media."<ref name="Hardyreq" />

=== Legal decisions === Beginning in 2011 a number of legal challenges were brought in attempts to eliminate the adult section of Backpage or shut down the website entirely. Backpage successfully argued that the First Amendment protections of free speech would be compromised by any restriction on postings by individuals on the Backpage website.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) served as an additional cornerstone in the defense. Section 230 says that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." This portion of the CDA was drafted to protect ISPs and other interactive service providers on the Internet from liability for content originating from third parties.<ref name="CDA230">{{cite journal|last=Ehrlich|first=Paul|date=January 1, 2002|title=Communications Decency Act 230|url=http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1358&context=btlj|journal=Berkeley Technology Law Journal|volume=17|issue=1|access-date=January 16, 2016}}</ref> The enactment of this portion of the CDA overturned the decision in ''Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services Co.'' in which Prodigy was deemed by the court to be a publisher and therefore liable for content posted on its site.<ref name="CDA230" /> Many observers have credited the passage of section 230 of the CDA as the spark that ignited the explosive growth of the internet.<ref name="Techdirt-Masnick" /> The protection afforded to website owners under section 230 was upheld in numerous court cases subsequent to the passage of the legislation in 1996 including ''Doe v. MySpace Inc.'', 528 F.3d 413 (5th Cir. 2008) and ''Dart v. Craigslist, Inc.'', 665 F. Supp. 2d 961 (N.D. Ill. October 20, 2009).

Some of the most important civil cases involving Backpage are described below:

==== ''M.A., et al. vs. Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC'' ====

Plaintiff M.A., a 14-year-old runaway, claimed to be a victim of sex trafficking by one Latasha Jewell McFarland, who later pleaded guilty to taking nude photos of M.A. and posting them to Backpage in ads offering M.A. for commercial sex. M.A. sued Backpage, arguing Backpage was liable because Backpage had created an "adult" category on the site and was aware that other minors had been trafficked through ads in that category.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goldman|first=Eric|date=August 17, 2011|title=Backpage Gets 47 USC 230 Defense for Prostitution Ads–M.A. v. Village Voice|url=https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2011/08/backpage_gets_2.htm|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Technology & Marketing Law Blog}}</ref> In 2011, the court ruled that CDA Section 230 still applied and "even if Backpage knows that third parties are posting illegal content, 'the service providers' failure to intervene is immunized{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 5, 2012|title=M.A. v. Village Voice Media, 809 F.Supp.2d 1041 (E.D. Miss. 2011)|url=https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230/cases/ma-v-village-voice-media|access-date=June 25, 2021|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|language=en}}</ref>

==== ''Backpage.com, LLC vs. McKenna'' ====

In 2012, Washington state passed SB 6251, which made it a felony to either directly or indirectly publish or cause to be published "any advertisement for a commercial sex act ... that includes the depiction of a minor".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Does Washington State's SB 6251 Require Online Classified Sites to Monitor All Third-Party Content? |publisher=Digital Media Law Project|url=https://www.dmlp.org/blog/2012/does-washington-states-sb-6251-require-online-classified-sites-monitor-all-third-party-con|access-date=June 25, 2021}}</ref> Ignorance of the age of the minor depicted in the ad was no defense. Backpage, joined by the Internet Archive, sued in federal court to stop the law from going into effect. The court barred enforcement, finding the statute precluded by federal law, specifically, CDA Section 230.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Backpage.com et al v. McKenna et al, No. 2:2012cv00954 - Document 69 (W.D. Wash. 2012)|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/washington/wawdce/2:2012cv00954/184762/69/|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Justia Law|language=en}}</ref> It also ruled that SB 6251 likely violated the First Amendment, as the state could not assume that all ads in an "adult" section were for prostitution without trampling free speech rights.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McCann|first=Nick|date=December 10, 2012|title=Washington Drops Online Sex Traffic Law|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/washington-drops-online-sex-traffic-law/|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Courthouse News Service|language=en-US}}</ref>

==== ''Backpage.com v. Cooper'' ====

In ''Backpage.com v. Cooper'', a federal judge enjoined a Tennessee law passed in 2012, SB 2371, which was a broader version of the Washington state statute. SB 2371 made it a felony to "sell or offer to sell" an ad that "would appear to a reasonable person" to be for a commercial sex act with a minor. As in ''McKenna'', the court found that the law was both precluded by CDA 230 and likely in violation of the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court also ruled that the law's definition of "commercial sex act" was so broad as to potentially include legal adult services, such as phone sex. "[W]hen freedom of speech hangs in the balance – the state may not use a butcher knife on a problem that requires a scalpel to fix", the court noted.<ref>{{Cite web|quote=AMENDED ORDER: The Court ADOPTS all of its factual findings and legal conclusions contained in the January 3 Order into this Order, and GRANTS summary judgment for Backpage for Backpage.com |title=''LLC v. Cooper et al''|url=https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/tennessee/tnmdce/3:2012cv00654/53480/62|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Justia Dockets & Filings|language=en}}</ref>

==== ''Backpage v. Hoffman'' ====

''Backpage v. Hoffman'' in August 2013 was the third strike against state laws attempting to legislate Backpage out of existence. In this case, New Jersey enacted a statute, referred to by the court as 12(b)1,<ref>{{Cite web|title=P.L. 2013, c.51 (A3352 5R)|url=https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2012/Bills/PL13/51_.HTM|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=www.njleg.state.nj.us}}</ref> which largely echoed the language of the Washington state and Tennessee laws.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 26, 2013|title=Internet Archive v. Hoffman|url=https://www.eff.org/cases/internet-archive-v-hoffman|access-date=June 25, 2021|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|language=en}}</ref> Again, a federal judge enjoined the law, finding it preempted by CDA Section 230, and in violation of the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause. The act is "hopelessly vague and overbroad" and "impermissibly chills protected speech", the judge wrote, ridiculing New Jersey's Attorney General for ignoring the statute's plain language in his defense of it. The Internet Archive also joined in this suit.

==== ''Backpage v. Dart'' ==== alt=Judge Posner|left|thumb|Federal Judge Richard Posner at Harvard University Following his loss in ''Dart v. Craigslist'', Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart turned his attention to Backpage, and more specifically, two of Backpage's payment processors, MasterCard and Visa.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hermes|first=Jeff|date=July 2015|title=Media Law Letter: Backpage Obtains TRO to Stop Interference with Payment Processing for Adult Ads|url=http://www.medialaw.org|publisher=Media Law Resource Center|pages=31–39}}</ref> In June 2015, Dart wrote a letter to both companies, requesting that they "cease and desist" allowing their cards to purchase ''any'' ads on Backpage, even non-adult ones, suggesting that they could be in violation of federal law due to human trafficking via ads on the site. Both MasterCard and Visa complied. Backpage then sued Dart in federal court, arguing he had used the power of his office to violate Backpage's First Amendment rights. The district court ruled in Dart's favor, but in November 2015, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court in an opinion written by Judge Richard Posner.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 1, 2015|title=Backpage.com Wins First Amendment Victory Against Censorious Sheriff|url=https://reason.com/2015/12/01/backpagecom-wins-first-amendment-victory/|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

Posner noted that Dart would only be in the right if there had been "''no'' constitutional protected speech in the ads on Backpage's website". As a result, Posner found Dart's letter to be a First Amendment violation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Backpage.com, LLC v. Dart, No. 15-3047 (7th Cir. 2015)|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/15-3047/15-3047-2015-11-30.html|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Justia Law|language=en}}</ref> Posner pointed out that Dart's claim that "everything in the adult section of Backpage's website is criminal, violent, or exploitive" was inaccurate.

Posner wrote:

{{blockquote |Fetishism? Phone sex? Performances by striptease artists? (Vulgar is not violent.) One ad in the category 'dom & fetish' is for the services of a 'professional dominatrix'—a woman who is paid to whip or otherwise humiliate a customer in order to arouse him sexually ... It's not obvious that such conduct endangers women or children or violates any laws, including laws against prostitution.<ref>{{Cite web| author-link = Mark Joseph Stern | last = Stern |first=Mark Joseph|date=December 2, 2015|title=A Judge Smacks Down a Sheriff's Absurd Intimidation Campaign Against Adult Ads|url=https://slate.com/technology/2015/12/backpage-v-dart-a-judge-smacks-down-a-sheriffs-intimidation-campaign-against-adult-ads.html|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Slate|language=en}}</ref>}}

Posner ordered the lower court to enjoin Dart from taking any actions against payment processors for Backpage. Backpage's legal victory did not reverse MasterCard and Visa's earlier decision to disallow the use of their payment cards on Backpage.

==== ''Jane Doe, et al. v. Backpage.com'' ==== {{update section|date=June 2025}}

Three anonymous Jane Does who were allegedly sex trafficked as minors sued Backpage in 2014 in federal court, arguing that their traffickers used Backpage to post ads selling them for sex. They claimed to have been raped numerous times while underage and accuse Backpage of facilitating sex trafficking due to its business and editorial practices, as well as the design of the website itself. The district court ruled against the plaintiffs, who then appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In an opinion written by Judge Bruce M. Seyla, the appeals court ruled that the actions by Backpage were "traditional publisher functions" regarding third-party content, and therefore were shielded by CDA Section 230.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goldman|first=Eric|title=Big Win For Free Speech Online In Backpage Lawsuit|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericgoldman/2016/03/17/big-win-for-free-speech-online-in-backpage-lawsuit/|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref> Stearns conceded that the Does' suffering evoked "outrage", but that the "remedy is through legislation not litigation".<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Jane Doe No. 1 v. Backpage.com LLC'' |date=March 14, 2016 |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-1st-circuit/1728752.html|access-date=June 25, 2021|via=Findlaw|language=en-US}}</ref> The appellants sought certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court and were denied.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Doe v. Backpage.com LLC|url=https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/doe-v-backpage-com-llc/|access-date=June 25, 2021|website=SCOTUSblog|language=en-US}}</ref> The case became the basis for the 2017 documentary ''I Am Jane Doe''.

In June 2017, the three Jane Does re-filed their complaint in federal court using information taken from the U.S. Senate's investigation into Backpage, which concluded Backpage had facilitated sex trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web|title=With New Evidence from U.S. Senate Report, Ropes & Gray Files Another Lawsuit Against Backpage.com, its CEO and Owners|url=http://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/news/2017/06/With-New-Evidence-from-US-Senate-Report-Ropes-Gray-Files-Another-Lawsuit-Against-Backpage-com|access-date=July 6, 2021|publisher=Ropes & Gray}}</ref> The complaint alleged that Backpage substantially changed the ads connected to the three Jane Does, thereby losing its Section 230 protection. The court agreed that in the case of one ad involving Jane Doe 3, an edit occurred suggesting that she was an adult. Backpage's counsel argued that the ad's poster actually made the change, but the court said this was a fact to be determined at trial and allowed Jane Doe 3's case to continue.<ref name="Masnick 2018-03-30">{{Cite web |first=Mike |last=Masnick |title=Court Shows SESTA Is Not Needed: Says Backpage Can Lose Its CDA 230 Protections If It Helped Create Illegal Content|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180329/23024539528/court-shows-sesta-is-not-needed-says-backpage-can-lose-cda-230-protections-if-it-helped-create-illegal-content.shtml|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=Techdirt|date=March 30, 2018 }}</ref> In the case of Jane Does 1 and 2, the court said there was no evidence that Backpage substantially contributed to the ads, so Backpage would have Section 230 immunity against those claims.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Eric |last=Goldman |author-link=Eric Goldman |date=March 30, 2018 |title=District Court Ruling Highlights Congress' Hastiness To Pass 'Worst of Both Worlds FOSTA' – Doe 1 v. Backpage|url=https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2018/03/district-court-ruling-highlights-congress-hastiness-to-pass-worst-of-both-worlds-fosta-doe-1-v-backpage.htm|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=Technology & Marketing Law Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> In August 2018, the court stayed proceedings in the case pending the conclusion of the criminal case in Arizona.

==== ''Backpage.com v. Lynch'' ==== {{POV section|date=June 2025}}

In 2015, Congress passed the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act (SAVE ACT), a vaguely worded law that forbade advertising that involved underage or coerced prostitution, i.e., sex trafficking. The law supposedly took aim at adult ads on Backpage, but civil liberties groups argued that the law was too broad and would have a chilling effect on speech.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Anti-Backpage.com Bill Will Shut Down Free Speech|url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/anti-backpagecom-bill-will-shut-down-free-speech|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=American Civil Liberties Union|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Cope|first=Sophia|date=January 29, 2015|title=SAVE Act Passes in House, Comes One Step Closer to Unnecessarily Chilling Online Speech|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/01/save-act-passes-house-coming-one-step-closer-chilling-online-speech|access-date=July 12, 2021|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|language=en}}</ref> Backpage sued then-U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to preclude the law's enforcement, arguing that despite its best efforts to keep illegal ads off its site, the wording of the law raised the bar for prosecution from a "knowing" standard to one of "reckless disregard", and therefore violated the First Amendment.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 15, 2015|title=Backpage.com Sues Federal Government Over SAVE Act|url=https://reason.com/2015/12/15/backpage-sues-loretta-lynch/|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

In October 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the law did not criminalize protected speech, and that because Backpage took steps to avoid having illegal content on its site, it arguably was not in imminent danger of prosecution.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Eric |last=Goldman |author-link=Eric Goldman |date=November 10, 2016|title=Backpage Can't Challenge the SAVE Act – Backpage v. Lynch|url=https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2016/11/backpage-cant-challenge-the-save-act-backpage-v-lynch.htm|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=Technology & Marketing Law Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> But Backpage's suit won a significant clarification from the court, which interpreted the law as requiring a "knowing" mens rea standard for a conviction, which is a higher standard than "reckless disregard".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mens Rea|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en}}</ref> Wrote the court: "while it might be true that some Congressional members had Backpage.com in mind when enacting the SAVE ACT, the statute is 'aimed' at individuals who knowingly advertise or benefit from advertising sex trafficking."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gerstein|first=Josh|title=Backpage wins by losing in suit over new trafficking law|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/10/backpage-wins-by-losing-in-suit-over-new-sex-trafficking-law-230307|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=Politico|date=October 25, 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

=== California prosecution=== On October 6, 2016, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that Texas authorities had raided the Dallas headquarters of Backpage.com and arrested CEO Carl Ferrer at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on felony charges of pimping, pimping a minor, and conspiracy to commit pimping. In a press release, Harris denounced Backpage as "the world's largest online brothel".<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 6, 2016|title=Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Criminal Charges Against Senior Corporate Officers of Backpage.com for Profiting from Prostitution and Arrest of Carl Ferrer, CEO|url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-criminal-charges-against-senior|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=State of California - Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General|language=en}}</ref> The California arrest warrant alleged that 99% of Backpage's revenue was directly attributable to prostitution-related ads and that many of the ads involved victims of sex trafficking, including children under the age of 18. The State of Texas was also considering a money laundering charge pending its investigation.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Backpage CEO to appear in Houston court on prostitution bust|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|url=http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Authorities-arrest-Backpage-CEO-in-human-9884677.php|access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release|date=October 6, 2016|title=Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Criminal Charges Against Senior Corporate Officers of Backpage.com for Profiting from Prostitution and Arrest of Carl Ferrer, CEO|agency=State of California Department of Justice |first=Kamala D. |last=Harris |author-link=Kamala Harris |url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-criminal-charges-against-senior|access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref> Arrest warrants were issued against former Backpage owners and founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin. Lacey and Larkin were charged with conspiracy to commit pimping.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mele|first=Christopher|date=October 6, 2016|title=C.E.O. of Backpage.com, Known for Escort Ads, Is Charged with Pimping a Minor|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/us/carl-ferrer-backpage-ceo-is-arrested.html|access-date=November 21, 2016|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Backpage.com raided, CEO arrested for sex-trafficking|language=en-US|newspaper=The Big Story|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2d89a01c2ff14106beeb7570747c46af/backpagecom-raided-ceo-arrested-texas|access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref>

Backpage general counsel Liz McDougall dismissed the raid as an "election year stunt", which she said was not "a good-faith action by law enforcement". McDougall said that the company would "take all steps necessary to end this frivolous prosecution and will pursue its full remedies under federal law against the state actors who chose to ignore the law, as it has done successfully in other cases."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hamilton|first=Matt|title=Backpage says criminal charges by Kamala Harris are 'election year stunt'|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-backpage-ceo-arrested-charged-20161006-snap-story.html|access-date=November 21, 2016|website=Los Angeles Times|date=October 7, 2016}}</ref> Backpage accused California attorney general Kamala Harris, who was running for the U.S. Senate at the time, of an illegal prosecution.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 7, 2016|title=Backpage.com CEO Will Fight Sex Trafficking Charges, Lawyer Says|url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/10/07/backpage-com-ceo-will-fight-sex-trafficking-charges-lawyer-says/|access-date=November 21, 2016|work=CBS Los Angeles}}</ref>

Harris's office fought against releasing the men on bail, and the three prisoners appeared together in court, confined to a cage inside a Sacramento courtroom, wearing orange jumpsuits.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 20, 2020|title=Kamala Harris's Dishonest Campaign To Destroy Backpage.com|url=https://reason.com/video/2020/08/20/kamala-harris-dishonest-campaign-to-destroy-backpage-com/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref> They were released on October 13, 2016, with bail set at $500,000 for Ferrer, and $250,000 each for Lacey and Larkin.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Darrell|date=October 13, 2016|title=Backpage.com CEO, partners to be released on bail|work=The Sacramento Bee|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article108074342.html|access-date=July 1, 2021}}</ref> All three pleaded not guilty.

Writing for the magazine Pacific Standard, reporter Melissa Gira Grant observed that news outlets repeatedly referred to the three men as being charged with "sex trafficking", though the charges were actually related to prostitution.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Grant|first=Melissa Gira|title=What's Behind the Backpage Prosecution?|url=https://psmag.com/news/whats-behind-the-backpage-prosecution|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Pacific Standard|date=August 9, 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

thumb|Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton partnered with Harris on the 2016 Backpage busts.

"None are accused with forcing anyone into prostitution", Grant wrote. "None are even accused of having had any physical contact with anyone in the sex trade. What the complaint claims the men did was earn money from a website where users could place advertisements for what Backpage categorized as 'adult' services."{{cn|date=January 2026}}

On October 17, 2016, attorneys for Ferrer, Larkin and Lacey sent a letter to Harris asking that all charges against their clients be dropped.<ref name="AttorneyGeneralHarris" /> Harris refused. The letter accused Harris of acting in bad faith, since she had signed a letter to Congress in 2013, along with 48 other state attorneys general, telling Congress that Section 230 of the CDA "prevents State and local law enforcement agencies from prosecuting" companies such as Backpage, and asking that Congress change the law.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 20, 2016|title=Former Backpage.com Heads Say Pimping Charges Motivated by Politics, Not Facts|url=https://reason.com/2016/10/20/backpage-wont/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

On November 17, 2016, Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman issued a tentative ruling on a motion to dismiss the charges, indicating that he would likely do so. He ruled that the many of Backpage's decisions regarding third-party content were "all traditional publishing decisions", which are "generally immunized under" Section 230. Bowman wrote, "In short, any victimization resulted from the third party's placement of the ad, not because Backpage [profited] from the ad placement."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cushing|first=Tim|title=Judge Leaning Strongly Towards Tossing Pimping Charges Against Backpage Executives|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161116/14265336063/judge-leaning-strongly-towards-tossing-pimping-charges-against-backpage-executives.shtml|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Techdirt|date=November 17, 2016 }}</ref>

On December 9, 2016, Bowman issued his final ruling, dismissing all the charges in the complaint, stating that "Congress has precluded liability for online publishers for the action of publishing third party speech and thus provided for both a foreclosure from prosecution and an affirmative defense at trial. Congress has spoken on this matter and it is for Congress, not this Court, to revisit."<ref>{{cite court|litigants=California vs Ferrar, et al|court=Cal. Superior Court|date=December 9, 2016|url=http://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3235130/16FE019224-Ferrer.pdf|quote=Congress has precluded liability for online publishers for the action of publishing third party speech and thus provided for both a foreclosure from prosecution and an affirmative defense at trial. Congress has spoken on this matter and it is for Congress, not this Court, to revisit.}}</ref>

On December 23, 2016, the state of California filed new charges against Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer and former Backpage owners Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin accusing them of pimping and money laundering.<ref name="CaliforniaVFerrerViaPhoenixTimes" /> Lawyers for Backpage responded that the new charges rehashed the earlier case, which had been dismissed. The filing of new charges came just a few weeks before Kamala Harris was to be sworn in as U.S. Senator from California.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Mike |last=Masnick|title=Merry Christmas: Kamala Harris Files Brand New Criminal Charges Against Backpage Execs After Last Ones Were Tossed Out|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161223/15495736339/merry-christmas-kamala-harris-files-brand-new-criminal-charges-against-backpage-execs-after-last-ones-were-tossed-out.shtml|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Techdirt|date=December 23, 2016 }}</ref>

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Brown dismissed the new pimping charges on August 23, 2017, writing that the state's "attempt to assign criminal liability to defendants who offered an online forum on which other people posted advertisements that led to prostitution ... confuse moral obligations with legal ones and have been rejected in other jurisdictions".<ref name="Regulation-2017">{{Cite web |first=Eric |last=Goldman |author-link=Eric Goldman |date=August 24, 2017|title=Backpage Executives Must Face Money Laundering Charges Despite Section 230-People v. Ferrer|url=https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2017/08/backpage-executives-must-face-money-laundering-charges-despite-section-230-people-v-ferrer.htm|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Technology & Marketing Law Blog|language=en-US}}</ref>

Brown allowed most of the money-laundering counts to stand. The state alleges that Backpage illegally set up separate accounts to accept payments for ads from credit card companies that refused to do business with them after Sheriff Dart threatened them. Brown warned that prosecutors would be obliged to "show that the profits came solely from that underlying criminal activity."<ref>{{Cite web |first=Mike |last=Masnick|title=California Case Against Backpage Moves Forward Over Money Laundering Claims|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170829/06075838097/california-case-against-backpage-moves-forward-over-money-laundering-claims.shtml|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Techdirt|date=August 29, 2017 }}</ref>

As part of his plea deal with the federal government, Ferrer pleaded guilty to one conspiracy count and three counts of money laundering in California state court, as well as to charges in Texas and in federal court.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 12, 2018|title=Attorney General Becerra Announces Guilty Plea by Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer and Permanent Shutdown of the Online Sex Trafficking Website|url=https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-becerra-announces-guilty-plea-backpagecom-ceo-carl-ferrer-and-0|access-date=July 2, 2021|publisher=State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General|language=en}}</ref> The California case against Lacey and Larkin for money laundering remains on hold pending the outcome of the federal trial.{{update needed|date= July 2025}} Ferrer has promised to testify against Lacey and Larkin in return for leniency.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 16, 2018|first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown |title=Backpage Plea to Texas Sex Trafficking Charge Turns On CEO's Admission to Brokering Adult Prostitution|url=https://reason.com/2018/04/16/backpage-plea-to-sex-trafficking-charges/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== U.S. Senate investigation === Since April 2015, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations ("PSI") had been investigating Backpage.com as part of an overall investigation of human trafficking. After a voluntary, day-long briefing and interview provided by the company's General Counsel, PSI followed up with a subpoena to Backpage.com demanding over 40 categories of documents, covering 120 subjects, regarding Backpage's business practices. Much of the subpoena targeted Backpage's editorial functions as an online intermediary.

Over the ensuing months, Backpage raised objections to the subpoena which PSI rejected, including that the subpoena was impermissibly burdensome both in the volume of documents PSI demanded and in its intrusion into constitutionally protected editorial discretion. PSI subsequently issued a shorter document subpoena with only eight requests but broader in scope and also targeting Backpage.com's editorial functions. Backpage.com continued to object on First Amendment and other grounds.

PSI applied in March 2016 for a federal court order to enforce three of the eight categories of documents in the subpoena. In August 2016, the U.S. District Court in D.C. granted PSI's application and ordered Backpage to produce documents responsive to the three requests.<ref>''Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations v. Ferrer'', __ F.Supp.3d ___, 2016 WL 4179289, Misc. Action No. 16-mc-621 (RMC) (D.D.C. August 16, 2016).</ref>

left|thumb|U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio chaired the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) during the January 10, 2017, Backpage hearing Backpage immediately filed an appeal and sought a stay, which the district court denied, then filed emergency stay petitions with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Each appellate court issued temporary stays to consider whether to grant a stay pending appeal,<ref>''Ferrer v. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations'', 137 S. Ct. 1 (Mem.), 195 L.E.2d 900, 85 USLW 3075 (September 6, 2016),</ref> but eventually denied the emergency stay requests.<ref>''Ferrer v. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations'', 137 S. Ct. 28 (Mem.), 195 L.E.2d 901, 85 USLW 3084 (September 13, 2016).</ref> The D.C. Circuit agreed to expedite the appeal, and one of its judges who considered the emergency stay said he would have granted it. Backpage has continued to pursue its appeal, producing thousands of documents to PSI pursuant to the District Court order. PSI scheduled a Subcommittee hearing regarding Backpage.com for January 10, 2017.

On January 9, 2017, prior to its scheduled hearings on Backpage the next day, the PSI released a report, denouncing what it referred to as Backpage's "knowing facilitation of online sex trafficking".<ref name="Mccaskill" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Neidig|first=Harper|date=January 10, 2017|title=Senators blast Backpage executives as site closes adult section|newspaper=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/313545-senators-blast-backpage-executives-after-site-closes-adult-section/|access-date=January 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations|date=January 2017|title=Backpage's Knowing Facilitation of Online Sex Trafficking|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Backpage-Report.pdf|access-date=July 3, 2021|via=Courthouse News}}</ref>

That same day, Backpage removed its adult category from all of its sites in the United States. In its place, the site posted a banner that read, "CENSORED", stating that "the government has unconstitutionally censored this content".<ref>{{Cite web |agency=Reuters |first1=Alastair |last1=Jamieson |first2=Tracy |last2=Connor |title=Backpage pulls adult ads and accuses government of 'censorship'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/backpage-pulls-adult-ads-blames-censorship-after-report-sex-trafficking-n705056|access-date=July 3, 2021 |website=NBC News|date=January 10, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> Backpage said it took the action due to the government's harassment and extra-legal tactics, which made it too costly for Backpage to continue hosting adult ads.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 10, 2017 |first=Derek |last=Hawkins |title=Backpage.com shuts down adult services ads after relentless pressure from authorities|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/01/10/backpage-com-shuts-down-adult-services-ads-after-relentless-pressure-from-authorities/|access-date=January 11, 2017|location=Washington, D.C.|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name="Masnick 2017-01-10">{{Cite news|date=January 10, 2017 |first=Mike |last=Masnick|title=Backpage Kills Adult Ads On The Same Day Supreme Court Backed Its Legal Protections, Due To Grandstanding Senators|website=Techdirt|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170109/17502636445/backpage-kills-adult-ads-same-day-supreme-court-backed-legal-protections-due-to-grandstanding-senators.shtml|access-date=January 11, 2017}}</ref>

Subcommittee chair Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, and ranking Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill, issued statement denying that Backpage's move was in response to censorship, saying the site's shutdown of its adult ad section was a "validation of our findings".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gerstein|first=Josh|title=Under Senate pressure, Backpage shutters adult section|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/backpage-shutters-adult-section-233386|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Politico|date=January 9, 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

The Electronic Frontier Foundation weighed in, stating that the site was succumbing to "years of government pressure"; as a result, both the First Amendment and CDA Section 230 were imperiled.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cope|first=Sophia|date=January 12, 2017|title=Government Pressure Shutters Backpage's Adult Services Section|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/01/government-pressure-censors-backpagecom|access-date=July 3, 2021|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|language=en}}</ref> Lois Lee, founder of the anti-trafficking organization Children of the Night, bemoaned the loss of Backpage as an investigative tool, saying that child prostitution "existed long before Backpage or the Internet", and that Backpage is "not the cause or even a cause". Instead, they argued that Backpage provided "an opportunity to better attack the problem".<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 10, 2017 |first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown |title=Backpage Shutters 'Adult' Ads Section Following Years of Government Bullying|url=https://reason.com/2017/01/10/backpage-shutters-adult-ad-section/|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

NCMEC applauded the takedown in a statement, saying it was "gratified to know that as a result of the recent decision, a child is now less likely to be sold for sex on Backpage."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dellinger|first=A. J.|date=January 10, 2017|title=Backpage Claims Censorship, Closes Adult Ads Over Pressure From Government Alleging Child Sex Trafficking|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/backpage-claims-censorship-closes-adult-ads-over-pressure-government-alleging-child-2473369|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=International Business Times}}</ref>

Kristen DiAngelo, executive director of the Sex Workers Outreach Project of Sacramento, criticized the shutdown, describing how many sex workers across the United States no longer had a way to support themselves. Backpage allowed for sex workers using the site to post bad date lists, screen clients, and communicate with other sex workers to ensure for the safest possible experience.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/10/health/sex-workers-craigslist-personals-trafficking-bill/index.html|title=After Craigslist personals go dark, sex workers fear what's next|last=Nedelman|first=Michael|date=April 10, 2018|work=CNN}}</ref> Activists argued that the move would force some of the site's users to work on the street.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/10/backpage-adult-classifieds-sex-workers-danger-trafficking|title=Backpage's halt of adult classifieds will endanger sex workers, advocates warn|last=Levin|first=Sam|date=January 10, 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=March 1, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> An article from ''Reason'' published in April 2023 supported this claim with the headline "5 years after the Backpage shutdown, sex workers—and free speech—are still suffering", and "the shutdown is still worsening the lives it was supposed to improve."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Elizabeth Nolan |date=April 7, 2023 |title=5 years after the Backpage shutdown, sex workers—and free speech—are still suffering |url=https://reason.com/2023/04/07/5-years-after-the-backpage-shutdown-sex-workers-and-free-speech-are-still-suffering/ |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Reason |language=en-US}}</ref>

Lacey and Larkin sold the site to Ferrer in 2015. The PSI subpoenaed all three, along with two current Backpage execs, to be present at the January 10 hearing. In response to attempted questioning from senators on the subcommittee, each witness declined to answer, "based on the rights provided by the Fifth and First Amendments" to the Constitution.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|date=January 13, 2017|title=Backpage Backed Into Corner Over Adult Ads. Is Government's Goal a Goodbye to Sex Trafficking, or Free Speech?|url=https://reason.com/2017/01/13/congressional-backpage-inquiry/|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

Portman claimed that the subcommittee's investigators discovered that Backpage had created a "filter" to delete "hundreds of words indicative of sex trafficking or prostitution before publication"—words such as "Lolita", "teen", "young", and so forth, ostensibly to hide questionable ads from law enforcement.<ref name="govinfo.gov">{{Cite web|title=Backpage.com's Knowing Facilitation of Online Sex Trafficking|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-115shrg24401/html/CHRG-115shrg24401.htm|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=GovInfo}}</ref>

''Techdirt'' editor Mike Masnick later wrote that such moderation was actually encouraged by Section 230's safe harbor, stating that one could "quite clearly see this as Backpage letting users know that it is not a place that should be used for sex trafficking, because it clearly alerts them to things that they don't want on the site." Masnick also noted that the same day as the hearing, Backpage had won another legal battle when the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a lower court's dismissal of ''Jane Doe, et al. v. Backpage.com''.<ref name="Masnick 2017-01-10"/>

In a piece on the hearing, Elizabeth Nolan Brown, a senior editor at ''Reason'' magazine, wrote that the terms in question did not necessarily indicate sex trafficking, since, for example, "teen" could apply to 18 and 19-year-olds, who were "both 'teens' ''and'', legally, adults". She also quotes NCMEC as stating that "It is virtually impossible to determine how old the young women in these ads are without an in-depth criminal investigation".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

But Portman, McCaskill and others saw these moderation practices as nefarious. In his concluding remarks, Portman stated that, "Backpage deliberately sanitized [these ads] to conceal evidence of prostitution, to conceal evidence of child trafficking", and as a result had allegedly broken the law. Portman said that he and McCaskill would promptly consider whether to refer this matter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) ... for further investigation."<ref name="govinfo.gov"/>

By April 2017, ''The Arizona Republic'' was reporting that a federal grand jury had been impaneled in Phoenix and was considering indictments of Lacey and Larkin.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hess|first=Sarah Jarvis, Lily Altavena and Kelsey|title=As allegations increase against Backpage, founders have become big political donors in Arizona|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/04/14/allegations-increase-against-backpage-founders-have-become-big-political-donors-arizona/100421528/|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=The Arizona Republic|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Federal prosecution === In late March 2018 and early April 2018, courts in Massachusetts and Florida ruled that Backpage's moderation practices may have fallen outside the immunity from civil suits granted by Section 230. The latter ruling argued that because Backpage "materially contributed to the content of the advertisement" by censoring specific keywords, it became a publisher of content and thus no longer protected.<ref name="Masnick 2018-03-30"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 4, 2018 |first=Mike |last=Masnick |title=Yet Another Court Says Victims Don't Need SESTA/FOSTA To Go After Backpage|work=Techdirt|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180404/11214139563/yet-another-court-says-victims-dont-need-sesta-fosta-to-go-after-backpage.shtml|access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref>

Backpage's adult services sections became the subject of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Department of Justice,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Backpage.com CEO pleads guilty to California money charges|work=Business Insider|url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/ap-backpagecom-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-california-money-charges-2019-64|access-date=April 13, 2018}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigator Division, with analytical assistance from the Joint Regional Intelligence Center over accusations that the website knowingly allowed and encouraged users to post ads related to prostitution and human trafficking, particularly involving minors, and took steps to intentionally obfuscate these activities.

On April 6, 2018, Backpage was seized by the FBI and other federal agencies, and Michael Lacey's home was raided by authorities. Lacey was arrested at gunpoint that day at his home in Paradise Valley; Larkin was arrested at an airport in Phoenix before exiting the plane, having returned from a trip overseas.<ref name="wired.com" /> Lacey was charged with money laundering and violations of the Travel Act.

On April 9, 2018, the US Department of Justice's indictment against Backpage was unsealed.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Brice|first1=Makini|last2=Mason|first2=Jeff|last3=Oatis|first3=Jonathan|date=April 11, 2018|title=Trump signs law to punish websites for sex trafficking|language=en-US|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-sextrafficking/trump-signs-law-to-punish-websites-for-sex-trafficking-idUSKBN1HI2KP|access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Lynch-2018">{{Cite news|last=Lynch|first=Sarah N.|date=April 9, 2018|title=Backpage.com founders, others indicted on prostitution-related charges|language=en-US|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-backpage/backpage-com-founders-others-indicted-on-prostitution-related-charges-idUSKBN1HG2ZZ|access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref> The 93 counts included "conspiracy to facilitate prostitution using a facility in interstate or foreign commerce, facilitating prostitution using a facility in interstate or foreign commerce, conspiracy to commit money laundering, concealment money laundering, international promotional money laundering, and transactional money laundering."<ref name="Bhardwaj-2018">{{Cite news|last=Bhardwaj|first=Prachi|date=April 9, 2018|title=Backpage.com executives have been charged with a 93-count federal indictment that alleges conspiracy to facilitate prostitution and money laundering|work=Business Insider|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/backpage-executives-93-count-federal-indictment-2018-4|access-date=April 12, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Heater|first=Brian|date=April 9, 2018|title=DOJ issues 93-count indictment against Backpage over sex ads |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/09/doj-issues-93-count-indictment-against-backpage-over-sex-ads/|access-date=April 12, 2018|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US}}</ref> According to prosecutors, the seven people charged in the indictment are Michael Lacey of Paradise Valley, Arizona; James Larkin of Paradise Valley, Arizona; Scott Spear of Scottsdale, Arizona; John E. "Jed" Brunst of Phoenix, Arizona; Daniel Hyer of Dallas, Texas; Andrew Padilla of Plano, Texas; and Jaala Joye Vaught of Addison, Texas.<ref name="Bhardwaj-2018" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Thomson|first=Iain|date=April 12, 2018|title=Backpage.com swoop: Seven bods hit with 93 charges as AG Sessions blasts alleged child sex trafficking cyber-haven|language=en|work=The Register|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/10/backpage_charges_indictment/|access-date=April 12, 2018}}</ref>

Its CEO, Carl Ferrer, pleaded guilty to charges of facilitating prostitution and money laundering, acknowledging that "the great majority" of the adult advertisements on Backpage were actually advertisements for prostitution. As part of his plea agreement Ferrer agreed to shut down the site and give its data to law enforcement.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Astor|first=Maggie|date=April 12, 2018|title=Backpage Chief Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy and Money Laundering|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/us/backpage-plea-deal-ferrer.html|access-date=April 19, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He agreed to testify against other alleged co-conspirators, such as but not limited to founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin. Backpage also pleaded guilty to human trafficking.

In July 2018, the grand jury in Phoenix issued a superseding indictment, increasing the total number of charges to 100, though the nature of the charges remained the same.<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 28, 2018|title=Indictment levels new charges against Backpage.com officials|website=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Technology/wireStory/indictment-levels-charges-backpage-officials-56874244|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728030744/https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Technology/wireStory/indictment-levels-charges-backpage-officials-56874244|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 28, 2018|access-date=July 4, 2021}}</ref> The new indictment focused on 50 distinct adult ads culled from the millions of adult and non-adult ads that ran on the site daily, and the indictment used the fact that Backpage had worked with law enforcement to show that Backpage's executives were aware of illegal content on the site.<ref>{{Cite web|title=''U.S. v. Lacey''|date=July 25, 2018|via=DocumentCloud|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4618737-Indictment-Superseding.html|access-date=July 4, 2021}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web|date=August 21, 2018 |first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown |title=The Senate Accused Them of Selling Kids for Sex. The FBI Raided Their Homes. Backpage.com's Founders Speak for the First Time.|url=https://reason.com/2018/08/21/backpage-founders-larkin-and-lacey-speak/|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

In August 2018, Backpage sales and marketing director Dan Hyer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate prostitution, while all other charges against him were dropped; the remaining six defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 18, 2018 |agency=The Associated Press |title=Sales director for Backpage.com pleads guilty to conspiracy|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sales-director-backpage-com-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-n901911|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=NBC News|language=en}}</ref>

The jury trial began in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona on September 1, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 31, 2021 |first=Jacques |last=Billeaud |title=Ex-Backpage owners head to trial over alleged sex ads|url=https://apnews.com/article/business-trials-04dec6708b0ee52e23985c1032a80adf|access-date=September 19, 2021|website=AP News|language=en}}</ref> In his opening statement, federal prosecutor Reginald Jones claimed that the site's owners and operators were aware that Backpage was being used for illegal activity, specifically prostitution, "but they didn't shut down the website."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cooper|first=Jonathan|date=September 3, 2021|title=Prosecutor: Backpage Managers Knew Site Had Prostitution Ads|work=U.S. News & World Report|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2021-09-03/prosecutor-backpage-managers-knew-site-had-prostitution-ads}}</ref> Defense attorneys countered that the adult services ads posted to Backpage were controversial, but still protected by the First Amendment.<ref name="PAhomepage.com-2021">{{Cite web|date=September 8, 2021 |first=Jacques |last=Billeaud |title=Defense lawyers say 1st Amendment protected ads on Backpage|url=https://www.pahomepage.com/news/technology/defense-lawyers-say-1st-amendment-protected-ads-on-backpage/|access-date=September 19, 2021|website=PAHomepage.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Prosecutors called four witnesses during the eight days of trial: Special Agent Brian Fichtner of the California Office of the Attorney General;<ref name="Reason.com-2021">{{Cite web|date=September 14, 2021 |first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown|title=Biased Testimony in Backpage Case Triggers Mistrial|url=https://reason.com/2021/09/14/biased-testimony-in-backpage-trial-triggers-more-calls-for-a-mistrial/|access-date=January 26, 2022|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref> Sharon Cooper, a physician who works with trafficking victims;<ref name="Ruelas">{{Cite web|last=Ruelas|first=Richard|date=September 14, 2021|title=Federal judge declares mistrial for Backpage executives accused of facilitating prostitution|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2021/09/14/federal-judge-declares-mistrial-backpage-case-michael-lacey-james-larkin/8333993002/|access-date=January 26, 2022|website=The Arizona Republic|language=en-US}}</ref> Jessika Svendgard;<ref name="Ruelas-2">{{Cite web|last=Ruelas|first=Richard|date=September 10, 2021|title='I would be raped for money': Former teen prostitute testifies in Backpage trial|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2021/09/10/former-teen-prostitute-i-am-jane-doe-testifies-backpage-trial/8280566002/|access-date=January 26, 2022|website=The Arizona Republic|language=en-US}}</ref> and Svendgard's mother Nacole Svendgard.<ref>{{Cite web|title=''United States v. Lacey'', No. CR-18-00422-001-PHX-DJH |url=https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-lacey-44|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126215255/https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-lacey-44|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2022|access-date=January 26, 2022|via=Casetext}}</ref>

According to ''The Arizona Republic'', Jessika Svendgard testified that she had been lured into a 105-day stint as a prostitute at age 15, where she would be "raped for money". She said both she and her trafficker advertised on Backpage, indicating falsely that she was 18 at the time. Under cross-examination, she indicated that she had never "met, spoken to, or communicated in writing" with any of the six defendants. Her struggle in suing Backpage and obtaining a settlement in Washington state was depicted in the 2017 anti-Backpage documentary ''I Am Jane Doe''.<ref name="Ruelas-2" />

Special Agent Brian Fichtner testified about his investigation into Backpage on behalf of the California Attorney General's Office under then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, which led to the arrests on pimping charges of Lacey, Larkin and Ferrer in 2016.<ref name="Reason.com-2021" /> (Though the pimping charges were twice dismissed, state money-laundering charges against the defendants survived.<ref name="Regulation-2017" />) According to ''Reason'' magazine, the prosecution called Fichtner "to present Backpage ads that he and federal prosecutors deemed to be clear evidence of illegal sex work", but Fichtner conceded that "none of the ads alone would be enough to justify a prostitution arrest."<ref name="Reason.com-2022">{{Cite web|date=January 20, 2022 |first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown |title=Maggy Krell Repackages Her Bogus Backpage Prosecution Into a Book|url=https://reason.com/2022/01/20/maggy-krell-repackages-her-bogus-backpage-prosecution-into-a-book/|access-date=January 25, 2022|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref>

Sharon Cooper described her work with sex trafficking victims and "casually mentioned child victims" of sex trafficking "throughout her testimony", as reported by ''The Arizona Republic''.<ref name="Ruelas"/>

On September 14, 2021, federal Judge Susan Brnovich declared a mistrial in the case, saying that prosecution had abused the leeway she had given it by making constant references to child sex trafficking rather than focusing on the crimes the defendants were charged with, namely facilitating prostitution.<ref name="AP NEWS-2021a">{{Cite web|date=September 14, 2021|first=Jacques |last=Billeaud|title=Judge declares mistrial at trial of Backpage.com founders|url=https://apnews.com/article/business-trials-3b1c9d3e59e90cd60764b3eb989fec80|access-date=September 19, 2021|website=AP News|language=en}}</ref>

"The government, as prosecutors, are held to a higher standard", Brnovich said. "Their goal is not to win at any costs, but their goal is to win by the rules."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ruelas|first=Richard|date=September 14, 2021|title=Federal judge declares mistrial for Backpage executives accused of facilitating prostitution|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2021/09/14/federal-judge-declares-mistrial-backpage-case-michael-lacey-james-larkin/8333993002/|access-date=September 19, 2021|website=The Arizona Republic|language=en-US}}</ref>

The trial had been expected to last two to three months.<ref name="PAhomepage.com-2021" /> Brnovich granted the defense motion for mistrial on day eight.<ref name="CourtListener">{{Cite web|title=Docket for ''United States v. Lacey'', 2:18-cr-00422 |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6358291/united-states-v-lacey/|access-date=January 25, 2022|website=CourtListener|language=en-us}}</ref>

Brnovich then set an October 5 status hearing in the case.<ref name="AP NEWS-2021a" />

At the October 5 hearing, Brnovich scheduled a new trial for February 22, 2022.<ref name="AP NEWS-2021b">{{Cite web|date=October 5, 2021|author=|title=New trial set for Backpage founders after recent mistrial|url=https://apnews.com/article/trials-money-laundering-4d6bb51607af13013243e41173b0ad07|access-date=January 25, 2022|website=AP News|language=en}}</ref>

Brnovich recused herself over a conflict of interest with her husband,<ref name="ArizonaRepublic">{{Cite web|last=Richard |first=Ruelas|date=April 6, 2021|title=Appeals court won't remove Judge Brnovich from Backpage case over Attorney General husband|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2021/04/06/court-wont-remove-judge-susan-brnovich-backpage-case/7111349002/|website=Arizona Republic|language=en-us}}</ref> who was Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, on October 29, 2021, and federal Judge Diane Humetewa was chosen by lot to replace her,<ref name="CourtListener" /> becoming the fourth judge to be assigned the case so far.<ref name="CourtListener" /> A new trial has been delayed as the defense appeals Humetewa's denial of a motion to dismiss the case for good.<ref name="Reason.com-2022" />

On September 2, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the defense's appeal of Humetewa's ruling. Defendants argued that the case should be dismissed because a new trial would violate the Fifth Amendment's prohibition on double jeopardy. Though the defendants had moved for the mistrial, their attorneys argued that the prosecution "goaded" them into doing so by engaging in intentional misconduct; specifically, by focusing too much on the subject of child-sex trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2, 2022 |first=Meghann |last=Cuniff |title=Backpage Founders Ask Appeals Court to Toss Prostitution Indictment Because of Prosecutorial 'Goading' |url=https://lawandcrime.com/federal-court/citing-michael-avenatti-backpage-founders-ask-appeals-court-to-toss-prostitution-indictment-because-of-prosecutorial-goading/ |access-date=October 14, 2022 |website=Law & Crime |language=en}}</ref>

On September 21, 2022, the appeals panel ruled against the defendants, upholding Humetewa's ruling and finding that the prosecution "had no reason to sabotage its own trial". The decision reportedly made it likely that Lacey, Larkin, et al. would face a retrial sometime in 2023.<ref name="Brown-2022">{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Elizabeth Nolan |date=September 22, 2022 |title=Retrial of Backpage execs wouldn't be double jeopardy, court says |url=https://reason.com/2022/09/22/retrial-of-backpage-execs-wouldnt-be-double-jeopardy-court-says/ |access-date=October 14, 2022 |website=Reason |language=en-US}}</ref>

On July 31, 2023, co-owner and co-founder James Larkin committed suicide about one week before the new trial was scheduled to start.{{cn|reason=Previously cited New York Post which is considered generally unreliable|date=January 2026}}

In November 2023 a jury found co-founder Michael Lacey guilty of one count of money laundering and acquitted him of another money-laundering charge, but deadlocked on 84 other charges, leading to a second mistrial.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2023 |first=Jacques |last=Billeaud |agency=Associated Press |title=Backpage founder Michael Lacey convicted of money laundering |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/backpage-founder-michael-lacey-convicted-of-money-laundering |access-date=November 17, 2023 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref>

In January 2024, Lacey's third trial began. In August 2024 Lacey was sentenced to five years in federal prison and ordered to pay a $3 million fine. He turned himself in on September 11 to begin his sentence, but was released on bond in November 2024 after appealing his prison sentence.{{cn|date=January 2026}}

== Subsequent history == President Donald Trump signed FOSTA/SESTA into law on April 11, 2018,<ref>{{Cite web |first=Samantha |last=Cole |title=Trump Just Signed SESTA/FOSTA, a Law Sex Workers Say Will Literally Kill Them |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/trump-signed-fosta-sesta-into-law-sex-work/ |access-date=July 6, 2021 |website=Vice |date=April 11, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> a law making it illegal to promote or facilitate prostitution. The new law also created an exception to CDA Section 230, removing an interactive computer service's immunity from civil and criminal state laws regarding sex trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wagner|first=Ann|date=April 11, 2018|title=H.R.1865 - 115th Congress (2017–2018): Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1865|access-date=July 6, 2021|publisher=United States Congress}}</ref> The law's proponents claimed that it was needed to crack down on Backpage, which they accused of facilitating sex trafficking through its adult section.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Tom |last=Jackman |date=February 27, 2018 |title=House passes anti-online sex trafficking bill, allows targeting of websites like Backpage.com|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/02/27/house-passes-anti-online-sex-trafficking-bill-allows-targeting-of-websites-like-backpage-com/|access-date=July 6, 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> However, the defendants in the Backpage case were not charged under SESTA/FOSTA, but under the U.S. Travel Act and money-laundering statutes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 15, 2018|first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown|title=The Backpage Scandal Isn't What You Think|url=https://reason.com/2018/11/15/the-backpage-scandal-isnt-what/|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref> The defendants were arrested on April 6, 2018, a week before the signing of the bill.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 26, 2019 |first=Paul |last=Detrick |title=The War on Backpage.com Is a War on Sex Workers|url=https://reason.com/video/2019/06/26/war-on-backpage-com-is-a-war-on-sex-workers/|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref> On June 17, 2020, Wilhan Martono was arrested by the United States Secret Service under FOSTA for running cityxguide, a replacement for Backpage's human-trafficking operations.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/us-attorney-s-office-shuts-down-website-promoting-prostitution-and-sex-trafficking | title=Northern District of Texas | U.S. Attorney's Office Shuts Down Website Promoting Prostitution and Sex Trafficking, Indicts Owner |publisher=United States Department of Justice | date=June 19, 2020 }}</ref>

In January 2025, the seizure notice was removed from Backpage's webpage and the domain became defunct. Sometime before late March 2025, the domain now redirects to the domain ''milfs.com''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Elizabeth Nolan |title=How Backpage Became MILFS.com |url=https://www.aol.com/news/backpage-became-milfs-com-151524985.html |website=AOL |date=2025-03-28 |access-date=5 January 2026}}</ref>

=== DOJ Memos === U.S. Department of Justice memos from 2012 and 2013, obtained by ''Reason'' and published in August 2019, revealed that Backpage actively fought against child prostitution on the website. ''Reason'' reported that federal prosecutors accidentally sent the memos to defense lawyers in the Backpage case sometime in 2018 as part of discovery, but the memos were placed under seal and could not be used at trial.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 26, 2019|first=Elizabeth Nolan |last=Brown|title=Secret Memos Show the Government Has Been Lying About Backpage All Along|url=https://reason.com/2019/08/26/secret-memos-show-the-government-has-been-lying-about-backpage/|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Reason|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Mike |last=Masnick|title=New Government Documents Reveal That Backpage Was Actively Helping Law Enforcement Track Down Traffickers|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190826/17065842857/new-government-documents-reveal-that-backpage-was-actively-helping-law-enforcement-track-down-traffickers.shtml|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Techdirt|date=August 28, 2019 }}</ref>

Attorneys at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington wrote both memos, assessing the possibilities of a successful prosecution of Backpage. The 2012 memo paraphrased an FBI agent with the Innocence Lost Task Force stating that, "unlike virtually every other website that is used for prostitution and sex trafficking, Backpage is remarkably responsive to law enforcement requests and often takes proactive steps to assist in investigations."<ref name="Backpage DOJ 2012 Memo-2012">{{Cite web|date=April 3, 2012|title=Memorandum: Backpage Investigation|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6345275-Backpage-DOJ-2012-Memo.html#document/p1|url-status=live|access-date=July 7, 2021|via=DocumentCloud|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826233402/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6345275-Backpage-DOJ-2012-Memo.html |archive-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref>

According to the 2012 memo, Backpage employees testified in criminal cases, answered subpoenas within 24 hours (sometimes within the hour), and gave law enforcement information without a subpoena in "exigent circumstances", such as a missing child. Law enforcement was able to "contact Backpage and obtain immediate removal of certain posts" suspected of involving juveniles. Backpage's age-verification protocol was imperfect, but standard in the industry, and it reported ads suspected of involving child sex trafficking to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The memo concludes that "any prosecution of Backpage would likely have to overcome Backpage's efforts to actively cooperate with law enforcement."<ref name="Backpage DOJ 2012 Memo-2012" />

The 2013 memo was also skeptical of a successful prosecution, stating, "[W]e have yet to uncover compelling evidence of criminal intent or a pattern of reckless conduct regarding minors." It described how Backpage's moderation changed over time, and paraphrased NCMEC's then-president and CEO, Ernie Allen, as saying he believed Backpage wanted child sex trafficking off its site, but that "the use of the Internet to market commercial sex was so fluid that any system of moderation and reporting was destined to fail". The memo suggests that the government may want to consider going after Backpage using money-laundering statutes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 16, 2013|title=Backpage.com Investigation Update|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6345276-Backpage-DOJ-2013-Memo.html#document/p1|url-status=live|access-date=July 7, 2021|via=DocumentCloud|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826233357/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6345276-Backpage-DOJ-2013-Memo.html |archive-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref>

==== Hacking/Hustling survey ==== Published in January 2020, a survey of sex workers by the sex-worker-rights group Hacking/Hustling indicated that sex workers suffered in the wake of SESTA/FOSTA's passage and the federal government's seizure of Backpage.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Blunt|first1=Danielle|last2=Wolf|first2=Ariel|date=April 27, 2020|title=Erased: The impact of FOSTA–SESTA and the removal of Backpage on sex workers|url=https://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/448|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|language=en|issue=14|pages=117–121|doi=10.14197/atr.201220148|s2cid=219067016 |issn=2287-0113|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to ''The Daily Beast'', the survey found that "33.8 percent of respondents reported an increase in violence from clients after the law was signed, and 72.5 percent reported they were facing increased financial insecurity", and sex-worker rights advocates "related stories of sex workers who were thrust into the arms of pimps in order to find work, or back into abusive relationships for want of somewhere to stay."<ref name="Shugerman-2021">{{Cite news|last=Shugerman|first=Emily|date=September 1, 2021|title=Backpage Kingpins Go on Trial—and Sex Workers May Pay the Price|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/backpagecom-founders-michael-lacey-and-james-larkin-go-on-trial-over-sex-worker-ads|access-date=January 26, 2022}}</ref>

==== GAO report ==== In June 2021, the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, stating that SESTA/FOSTA had only been used once by the DOJ since it was passed in 2018. Both SESTA/FOSTA and the takedown of Backpage using other statutes had caused the adult online ad market to fragment and scatter to sites hosted in other countries.<ref name="Shugerman-2021"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sex Trafficking: Online Platforms and Federal Prosecutions|url=https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-385|access-date=July 7, 2021|publisher=Government Accountability Office|language=en}}</ref>

The GAO report concludes that the seizure of Backpage has had an adverse effect on federal law enforcement's ability to investigate sex trafficking cases. It reads:

{{quote|gathering evidence to bring cases against users of online platforms has also become more difficult. According to a 2019 FBI document, the FBI's ability to identify and locate sex trafficking victims and perpetrators was significantly decreased following the takedown of backpage.com. According to FBI officials, this is largely because law enforcement was familiar with backpage.com, and backpage.com was generally responsive to legal requests for information. In contrast, officials said, law enforcement may be less familiar with platforms located overseas. Further, obtaining evidence from entities overseas may be more cumbersome and time-intensive, as those who control such platforms may not voluntarily respond to legal process, and mutual legal assistance requests may take months, if not years, according to DOJ officials. Despite these investigative challenges, DOJ officials said they are committed to holding accountable those who control online platforms that promote sex trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sex Trafficking: Online Platforms and Federal Prosecutions|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/720/715125.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=July 7, 2021|publisher=Government Accountability Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627220319/https://www.gao.gov/assets/720/715125.pdf |archive-date=June 27, 2021 }}</ref>}}

=== Alleged victims === On April 9, 2018, the US Department of Justice's indictment against Backpage was unsealed. One 15-year-old is alleged to have been forced to do in-calls at hotels. A second teenager was allegedly told to "perform sexual acts at gunpoint and choked" until she had seizures, before being gang raped. A third victim, advertised under the pseudonym "Nadia", was stabbed to death, while a fourth victim was murdered in 2015, and her corpse deliberately burned. The lawyer for Backpage operations manager Andrew Padilla stated that his client was "not legally responsible for any actions of third parties under U.S. law. He is no more responsible than the owner of a community billboard when someone places an ad on it".<ref name="Lynch-2018" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/backpage-indictment-trafficking_us_5acbcaeae4b0337ad1eadf6a|title=Backpage.com Founders Indicted For Facilitating Prostitution On Site|last1=Amatulli|first1=Jenna|date=April 9, 2018|work=HuffPost Canada|access-date=April 13, 2018|last2=Reilly|first2=Ryan J.|language=en-CA}}</ref>

In October 2018, a Texas woman sued Backpage and Facebook, claiming she had been sex trafficked on Backpage by a man who lured her into prostitution by posing as her friend on the social media network.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sex-trafficking-facebook-lawsuit/woman-sues-facebook-claims-site-enabled-sex-trafficking-idUSKCN1MD080|title=Woman sues Facebook, claims site enabled sex trafficking|last=Whitcomb|first=Dan |work=Reuters |access-date=October 3, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> On April 15, 2019, a Wisconsin man was convicted on federal sex trafficking charges over victims who he brought across state lines, forced into prostitution and advertised on Backpage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wisconsin-trafficking-idUSKCN1RR2DP|title=Wisconsin man found guilty of sex trafficking on now-defunct Backpage.com|date=April 16, 2019|first=Dan |last=Whitcomb|work=Reuters|access-date=April 16, 2019|language=en}}</ref> On April 29, 2019, a Florida former middle school teacher was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for buying sex with a 14-year-old girl who was advertised on Backpage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-humantrafficking-idUSKCN1S62IK|title=Florida man imprisoned for trafficking girl, 14, via Backpage.com|date=April 30, 2019|first=Dan |last=Whitcomb|work=Reuters|access-date=April 30, 2019|language=en}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Mccaskill> {{cite news | url = https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017.01.10%20Backpage%20Report.pdf | title = Backpage.com's knowing facilitation of online sex trafficking | publisher = United States Senate, PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs | date = 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170113014504/https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017.01.10%20Backpage%20Report.pdf | archive-date = January 13, 2017 | access-date = January 29, 2017 | url-status = dead }} </ref>

<ref name=CaliforniaVFerrerViaPhoenixTimes>{{cite news | url = http://images.phoenixnewtimes.com/media/pdf/backpage_redacted.pdf | title = California v. Ferrer | date = December 23, 2016 | access-date = January 29, 2017 | archive-date = August 25, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200825055730/http://images.phoenixnewtimes.com/media/pdf/backpage_redacted.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name=Alabama2017-01-25> {{cite news | url = http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/01/sex_trafficking_survivor_files.html | title = Sex Trafficking Victim Sues Backpage.com, Choice Hotels | publisher = Alabama.com | author = Roy S. Johnson | date = January 25, 2017 | access-date = January 29, 2017 | quote = Last September, however, the Supreme Court in Washington state ruled 6-3 that a 2012 suit against Backpage.com by three Washington teenaged girls who were allegedly trafficked on the site, could proceed, in what turned out to be a preliminary blow against the site. }} Backpage was seized by the federal government on April 6, 2018. </ref>

<ref name=AttorneyGeneralHarris> {{cite news | url = https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3147223/Letter-to-Attorney-General-Harris-10-17-16.pdf | title = The Honorable Kamala D. Harris Re: People v. Ferrer, et al., Case No. 16FE019224 (Sup. Ct., Sacramento County) | publisher = Davis Wright Tremaine | author = James C. Grant | date = October 17, 2016 | access-date = January 29, 2017 }} </ref>

}}

==External links== * {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfKlsVbbI0I|title=Backpage.com seized by feds over sex trafficking ads |publisher=CBS Evening News|date=April 6, 2018}}

Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2018 Category:Internet properties established in 2004 Category:Internet services shut down by a legal challenge Category:Defunct websites Category:Money laundering Category:Online marketplaces of the United States Category:Prostitution in the United States Category:Domain name seizures by the United States