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Federal Authorities Take down Backpage.Com, Accused of Being a Haven for Online Prostitution

the Justice Department on Friday seized the Backpage.com website and raided the home of its cofounder.

The site, long a haven for sex ads, began shutting down Friday morning, as FBI agents began taking down a network of web pages all over the world . A notice on the site said it had been seized as part of an enforcement action by the FBI, the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

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Press, Legislative Advocacy ECPAT USA Press, Legislative Advocacy ECPAT USA

Congress' Just-Passed Child Sex Trafficking Bill Has Already Had An Impact

In one of the most divided and partisan Congresses in recent memory, a near-unanimous vote on legislation showed Republicans and Democrats can agree on at least one thing: trying to stop child sex trafficking.

The principal goal of the Allows States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act was to amend a law that absolves online companies of liability when users post illicit content. For years, websites like backpage.com or Craigslist have had trouble regulating advertisements that can be used to traffic people for sex, but because of the law protecting them, those victims had no course of action to sue a website. 

And the bill has already had an impact.

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Legislative Advocacy ECPAT-USA Legislative Advocacy ECPAT-USA

House Authors of FOSTA-SESTA Thank ECPAT-USA and Others

On March 6, 2018, Congresswoman Ann Wagner, joined by Congresswomen Joyce Beatty, Mimi Walters, and Carolyn Maloney, thanked ECPAT-USA and other leading advocacy organizations for their their input and expertise as the House considered H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. The Congresswoman also directed the letter to the more than 100 organizations that sent the February 26 support letter to Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi.  

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Legislative Advocacy Guest User Legislative Advocacy Guest User

The Mann Act: Or How is a 107 Year Old Law Suddenly Relevant to Online Sex Trafficking?

The Congress has been making important progress in reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 is the provision that provides legal protection to websites like Backpage.com, which facilitate the sale of children online. Congress has introduced two bills—SESTA in the Senate (Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act) and FOSTA (Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) in the House. The two bills take different approaches in crafting a legislative solution, but the core of what they seek to do is similar. Both bills have enjoyed broad-based, and bipartisan support, and both bills have made real progress in moving through the legislative process this year.  

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