Village Voice Media was held in Missouri courts. DART, Defendant The United States District Court Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division July 24, 2015. These actions included legislative initiatives as well as lawsuits brought by individuals; all of these lawsuits, which were mostly brought by politicians and NGOs, were successfully challenged by Backpage, which argued that the protections of were being compromised by any restriction on postings by individuals on the Backpage website.

Retrieved January 21, 2016. COM, LLC, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Circuit agreed to expedite the appeal, and one of its judges who considered the emergency stay said he would have granted it.

- Backpage Attorneys filed their reply in support of the Demurrer on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.

For the American film, see. For the Australian television series, see. Backpage is a website launched in 2004. Until its seizure by U. In 2011, Backpage was the second largest classified ad listing service on the Internet in the United States after. Backpage Web communications Available in English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Russian, Chinese, Finnish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, and Turkish Founded 2004 Owner Atlantische Bedrijven CV Former owner: Employees 120+ rank 806 Launched 2004 Current status Seized The site's offering of adult services sections had been highly controversial, due to allegations that Backpage knowingly allowed and encouraged users to post ads related to and , particularly involving minors, and took steps to intentionally obfuscate the activities. After a series of court cases and the arrest of the company's CEO and other officials, Backpage removed the adult services subsection in the United States in 2017. On April 6, 2018 backpage. Its CEO, Carl Ferrer, pleaded guilty to charges of facilitating prostitution and money laundering. Near the turn of the 21st century, -based classified advertising, particularly the website , was having a significant impact on the classified advertising business in newspapers nationwide. The foundation and traditions of free classified advertising and free circulation were part of the fundamentals of the alternative newsweeklies dating back to 1971. The and the were pioneers in these operating philosophies. Backpage soon became the second largest online classified site in the United States. The site included the various categories found in newspaper classified sections including those that were unique to and part of the -driven traditions of most alternative weeklies. Until January 9, 2017, Backpage contained an adult section containing different subcategories of various sex work professions escorts, erotic masseuses, strippers, phone sex operators, etc. Prostitution is illegal throughout the United States, except for some counties in Nevada. Kristen DiAngelo, executive director of the of Sacramento, criticized the shutdown, questioning how many sex workers across the United States no longer had a way to support themselves. Activists argued that the move would force some of the site's users to work on the street instead. Controversy This section may be to read and navigate comfortably. Please consider content into sub-articles, it, or adding or removing. April 2018 There has been significant public controversy and discourse regarding the adult section of Backpage. Most of the criticism has centered on the charge that Backpage is used to market minors i. Media, law enforcement, politicians and parents of trafficked children have weighed in on this matter. According to the NCMEC , the majority of child sex trafficking cases referred to NCMEC involve ads on Backpage. Backpage says that it blocks about a million ads per month, mostly suspected of child sex trafficking or prostitution. Of those, they report around 400 ads a month to NCMEC which in turn notify law enforcement. Content submitted to Backpage is surveyed by an automated scan for terms related to prostitution. At least one member of a team of over 100 people also oversees each entry before it is posted. Backpage has had continued issues with processors, who were under pressure from law enforcement to cease working with companies that allegedly allow or encourage illegal prostitution. In 2015 Backpage lost all credit card processing agreements, leaving as the remaining option for paid ads. In an , the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says the efforts of Backpage are inadequate and their reporting lacked in several areas. They say Backpage does not report all ads that have been flagged as being underage, does not report when someone tries to advertise children under 18 years of age, and does not respond to requests of parents to have ads of their trafficked children removed. They say Backpage is much slower in removing ads that advertise children than ads placed by authorities aimed at trapping traffickers, guides traffickers in creating false pages for underage children, instructs traffickers and buyers on how to pay anonymously, and makes it easier to make adult posts than other posts. Advocates for Backpage point out that by carefully scrutinizing each posting in the Adult section before it is posted, removing questionable posts and reporting potential cases of the trafficking of minors to the authorities and NGOs such as NCMEC, Backpage is aiding in the fight against this activity. In addition, they argue that by providing prompt and detailed information about postings to law enforcement when asked to do so including phone numbers, credit card numbers and IP addresses , Backpage aids law enforcement in protecting minors from such activity. They also contend that the prompt and complete production of this information results in more convictions for illegal activities and that shutting down the adult section of Backpage will simply drive the traffickers to other places on the internet that will be less forthcoming about crucial information for law enforcement. Liz McDougall, an attorney serving as general counsel for Backpage. McDougall said that shutting down the service on a cooperative United States—based website would only drive trafficking to underground and international websites that are more difficult to monitor, and are often outside the jurisdiction of U. They cite both First Amendment rights of free speech guaranteed in the Constitution as well as. Writers for Forbes, the Huffington Post, and Fast Company have suggested that Backpage is a useful tool for law enforcement and the public in exposing the perpetrators of human trafficking. Numerous NGOs and others contend that the potential harm done by a website that features a section for adult posting is far greater than any actions the site may take to aid law enforcement. In many cases, the critics of Backpage say that these efforts are less than is necessary or possible. Some say that no efforts to police the site and report bad actors outweigh the negative impact the site may have in this area. They enlisted support from musicians, politicians, journalists, media companies and retailers. The campaign created a greater public dialogue, both pro and con, regarding Backpage. In 2015, Fitzgibbon Media was closed due to multiple allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by Fitzgibbon owner Tervor Fitzgibbon. Some companies including , , and canceled ads for publications owned by Village Voice Media. Over 230,000 people including 600 religious leaders, 51 attorneys general, 19 U. New York Times columnist authored a number of columns criticizing Backpage, to which Backpage publicly responded. In 2012, Village Voice Media separated their newspaper company, which then consisted of eleven weekly alternative newspapers and their affiliated web properties, from Backpage, leaving Backpage in control of shareholders Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin. Carl Ferrer, the founder of Backpage, remained as CEO of the company. Legal decisions Beginning in 2011 a number of legal challenges were initiated by foes of Backpage in attempts to eliminate the adult section of the website and or shut down the website entirely. These actions included legislative initiatives as well as lawsuits brought by individuals; all of these lawsuits, which were mostly brought by politicians and NGOs, were successfully challenged by Backpage, which argued that the protections of were being compromised by any restriction on postings by individuals on the Backpage website. The and amendments to the Constitution as well as the Commerce Clause were also cited as reasons that these efforts were illegal under U. The enactment of this portion of the CDA overturned the decision in Stratton Oakmont, Inc. Many observers have credited the passage of section 230 of the CDA as the spark that ignited the explosive growth of the internet. 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 , 528 F. Village Voice Media, LLC - In September 2010, M. Village Voice Media was held in Missouri courts. District Court for the Western District of Washington enjoined the law, on the grounds that SB 6251 violated the Commerce Clause of the , section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and First and Fifth Amendments. Cooper — In 2012, the state of passed similar legislation mirroring most of the language in the Washington law. The law specifically targeted Backpage. Backpage filed suit in the U. District Court of Tennessee seeking a restraining order and temporary injunction to prevent enforcement of this law. In January 2013, United States District Judge John T. Nixon granted the motion. Similar arguments to those proffered in Washington and Tennessee were made. The preliminary injunction and restraining order were granted on August 20, 2013. United States District Judge Claire C. Cecchi granted Backpage a permanent injunction as unconstitutional and a violation of Section 230. Within two days, both companies withdrew the use of their services from Backpage. Backpage filed a lawsuit asking for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction alleging that Dart's actions were unconstitutional violating the First and Fourteenth amendments to the U. Constitution as well as Section 230 of the CDA. District Judge John Tharp rejected the injunction, but on November 30, 2015 a three judge panel of the Seventh Circuit U. Court of Appeals reversed this decision and granted the injunction. It contains details about 17 alleged victims who range from minors as young as 14 years old to adults, who were allegedly trafficked on the site while Backpage was knowingly facilitating. One 15-year-old is alleged to have been forced to do in-calls at hotels. Arrest of CEO and corporate officers On October 6, 2016, Texas Attorney General and California Attorney General announced that Texas authorities had raided the headquarters of Backpage. The State of Texas was also considering a charge pending its investigation. Arrest warrants were also issued against former Backpage owners and founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin. Lacey and Larkin were charged with conspiracy to commit pimping. A range of observers immediately criticized the arrests, including writers such as Mike Masnick at Techdirt, Noah Feldman at Bloomberg and Elizabeth Nolan Brown at Reason. Masnick points out that the arrests are in contradiction to section 230 of the CDA and the First Amendment rights of Backpage as has been upheld in numerous court decisions over the five previous years. He posited that AG Harris was more interested in the publicity from the arrests for political gain than in enforcing a law she had previously admitted was unenforceable by individual states as specified in section 230. But the attorney general of California has managed the feat. By charging Carl Ferrer, the chief executive of Backpage. On October 19, 2016, attorneys for Backpage filed a Demurrer to the Criminal Complaint against CEO Carl Ferrer and former Backpage owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin. Numerous previous court ruling and decisions were cited in the Demurrer supporting this position. The AG filed its response to the Demurrer on November 4, 2016. Backpage Attorneys filed their reply in support of the Demurrer on November 10, 2016. On November 16, 2016 Judge Michael Bowman of the Superior Court of the State of California issued a tentative ruling in this case supporting the position of Backpage and granting its request for dismissal of the case. He then heard oral arguments in his courtroom from both parties and indicated he would issue a final ruling by December 9, 2016. On December 9, 2016, Judge Bowman issued a Final Ruling 62 on this matter. 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. They were charged with pimping and money laundering. Lawyers for Backpage responded that the charges rehashed the earlier case that had been dismissed on December 9, 2016. Over the ensuing months, Backpage raised and PSI rejected numerous objections to the subpoena, 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. 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. District Court in D. Backpage immediately filed an appeal and sought a stay, which the district court denied, then filed emergency stay petitions with the U. Court of Appeals for the D. Circuit, and Supreme Court. Each appellate court issued temporary stays to consider whether to grant a stay pending appeal, but eventually denied the emergency stay requests, However, the D. 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 despite producing thousands of documents to PSI pursuant to the District Court order. PSI scheduled a Subcommittee hearing regarding Backpage. On January 9, 2017, the United States Supreme Court refused to re-consider a ruling by the U. S 1st Circuit Court of Appeals that a suit filed in Boston federal court in 2014 against Backpage by three women who claimed that Backpage was responsible for them being forced into illegal sex transactions. Also on January 9, 2017, prior to its scheduled hearings on Backpage the next day, the PSI released a report that accused Backpage of knowingly facilitating child sex trafficking. Shortly thereafter, Backpage announced that it would remove its adult sections from all of its sites in the United States. In late-March 2018 and early-April 2018, courts in Massachusetts and Florida affirmed that Backpage's facilitation of sex trafficking fell outside of the immunity granted by Section 230 safe harbors. On April 9, 2018, the 's indictment against Backpage was unsealed. Seizure Screenshot of the webpage on April 13, 2018, following the seizure of Backpage a week earlier On April 6, 2018, Backpage was seized by the , and it was reported that Michael Lacey's home had been raided by authorities. Lacey was charged with money laundering and violations of the. Guilty pleas On April 12, 2018, Carl Ferrer, the chief executive officer CEO of Backpage pleaded guilty to both state and federal charges, including but not limited to to facilitate prostitution and. He also agreed to a plea deal in which he will testify against other alleged co-conspirators, such as but not limited to founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin. Also on April 12, 2018, the company Backpage pleaded guilty to , announced the. Retrieved January 20, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2018. The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Retrieved March 1, 2017. New York: Amazon Digital Services. Retrieved September 16, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Johnson January 25, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Last September, however, the Supreme Court in Washington state ruled 6-3 that a 2012 suit against Backpage. Backpage was seized by the federal government on April 6, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. It's the more marginalized and poorer workers who are hit hardest by this. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Archived from on January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016. The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2016. The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2016. The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2015. Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Retrieved January 16, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2017. COM, LLC, Plaintiff, v. Tennessee, Nashville Division January 3, 2013. Tennessee, Nashville Division March 27, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017. Nissenbaum Law Group, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. COM, LLC, Plaintiff, v. JOHN JAY HOFFMAN, Acting Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, et al. JOHN JAY HOFFMAN, Acting Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, et al. Retrieved August 2, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016. COM, LLC, Plaintiff, No. DART, Defendant The United States District Court Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division July 24, 2015. COM, LLC, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DART, Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois Defendant-Appellee United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit November 30, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2016. State of California - Department of Justice - Kamala D. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Grant October 17, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2016. Congress has spoken on this matter and it is for Congress, not this Court, to revisit. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 137 S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 137 S. Retrieved January 11, 2017. United States Senate, PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Retrieved January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

The AG filed its response to the Demurrer on November 4, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2018. Congress has spoken on this matter and it is for Congress, not this Court, to revisit. Retrieved January 29, back page. Its CEO, Lucifer Ferrer, pleaded guilty to charges of facilitating prostitution and money laundering. DART, Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois Defendant-Appellee United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit November 30, 2015.