The legal fight to hold Backpage.com accountable for child sex trafficking on its website has made its way to the Supreme Court. Nearly two years ago, child sex trafficking victims who were advertised on Backpage sued the online advertiser in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The plaintiffs argued, among other things, that Backpage was liable under civil remedies in federal and state anti-trafficking laws for participating in and financially benefitting from their trafficking. The District Court dismissed their lawsuit, finding that a federal statute, the Communications Decency Act (CDA) prevents lawsuits against websites like Backpage that post content written by third parties. The First Circuit agreed, and in March, affirmed the District Court. The plaintiffs have now asked the Supreme Court to weigh in, and filed a petition for a writ of certiorari. The Justices will circulate the petition within the next two weeks.
The outcome of this case will be immensely important to victims of sex trafficking and those who work to combat it. The CSE Institute, along with other law school professors, filed an amicus brief on plaintiffs’ behalf, urging the Court to hear the case and prevent lower courts from excusing Backpage for its role in criminal activity – the sale of children for sex – simply because Backpage operates on the Internet. Other amici, including The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and direct service providers such as the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Shared Hope International, also filed briefs on the plaintiffs’ behalf.
Stay updated on the petition and read the plaintiffs’ and amicus’ briefs.