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November 3, 2018

Craigslist and Backpage: The Websites Used for Sex Trafficking

Winner of the Fall 2018 StMU History Media Award for

Best Article in the Category of “Human Rights”

Have you ever wanted to make some easy money by selling your old stuff? Thanks to websites like Craigslist and Backpage, you can. Both Craigslist and Backpage are two of the largest classified advertisement websites. They allow you to search for and sell items in and around your local area. They even give you the option to post advertisements for job listings, events and activities. Craigslist was founded in 1995, and Backpage was founded in 2004.1 Craigslist is owned by its founder Craig Alexander Newmark, and Backpage was formerly owned by Village Voice Media and was run by its former CEO Carl Ferrer. Backpage is now owned by a Dutch company called Atlantische Bedrijven CV.2 These websites may seem like a harmless way to look for products and services, but the truth is these websites had a personal ad section that made it easy for young girls and women to be sexually exploited.

Craigslist Office | Courtesy of Creative Commons

The personal ad section on these websites allowed for people to meet men and women in their area. Typically, these ads were used to find someone to date or with whom to have casual sex. Although these personal ad sections were intended for people to connect and interact with other persons, they were misused. These ads turned into the perfect platform for pimps and traffickers to promote the sale of women and children for sex. As shocking as it sounds, research has shown that the internet is a common tool for sex traffickers to use. Using the internet allows traffickers to reach a larger number of potential clients while eluding law enforcement.3 For them, the internet is the safest way to make money. The service providers Craigslist and Backpage, however, did nothing to stop people from using their websites in this way. Instead of preventing the ads from being posted or taking them down, they published them.

Several people filed lawsuits against Craigslist and Backpage because they wanted these websites to be held liable for publishing sex ads.4 After being faced with backlash, Craigslist and Backpage agreed to implement some requirements for their advertisements. In 2008, Craigslist required a fee for those persons posting in the “adult services” part of their personal ad section. The fee ranged between 5-10 U.S. dollars per ad. People would need to use a valid credit card and provide a verifiable phone number. This requirement, however, did not have much of an impact. Many traffickers simply used fake credit cards and phone numbers to pay the fee.5 Through these fees, Craigslist and Backpage made a huge profit. Craigslist made $44.6 million from their adult services advertisements and Backpage made $24 million.6 Their adult section, however, was the only one with a fee attached. To get around the fee, people would simply post their sex ads in other sections. Another attempt made by Craigslist and Backpage to reduce the chances of sex trafficking was removing posts with words such as “sexy” and “young.” This also proved to be ineffective. People would use code words so that their ads would not be removed. For example, pimps and traffickers used words like ‘new’ to indicate that the girl was a minor. Backpage even helped to edit advertisements by changing the words so that they would not get flagged or reported.7 The websites changes were not effective in reducing the number of sex ads posted. Craigslist and Backpage still failed to consistently block ads for illegal activity such as sex trafficking.

Former U.S. Representative, Katherine Harris, Speaks at the End Sex Trafficking News Conference in 2005 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Many women and children were trafficked through these websites. In one case, three young women were repeatedly raped while they were minors when they were sold through Backpage’s website. Each of these victims filed a lawsuit against Backpage back in October 2014. This case is known as Doe v. Backpage.com. The lawsuit claimed that the classified ad company had engaged in sex trafficking of minors. They argued that the websites were engaged in trafficking since they did such a poor job in governing the content of the ads being posted. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First District ruled in favor of Backpage and held that Backpage was protected under U.S. Code Title 7 Section 230, more commonly known as the Communications Decency Act (CDA). 8

] The purpose of the CDA is to regulate interactive computer services. The CDA makes it the policy of the United States “to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services” and “to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and harassment by means of computer.”9

In their decision, the Court of Appeals argued that by claiming that Backpage facilitates sex trafficking through its posting rules, you are treating Backpage as the publisher of the content which the CDA prohibits. Section 230 subsection (c) states, “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.”10 The Court believed that Backpage should not be held responsible for what its customers convey on its website. Just a year prior to this case, another lawsuit was brought against Backpage. This case was Backpage.com, LLC v. Cooper. In this case, just like in Doe v. Backpage.com, Backpage argued that they had no knowledge of the content posted on their website. The Court ruled that their classified ads were protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. They argued that it is unlawful to censor an entire category of speech on a website. They also stated that it would place “an impossible burden” on Backpage to review the millions of ads posted on its website.11

Just like Backpage, Craigslist was faced with numerous lawsuits. Those who brought lawsuits against Craigslist wanted them to be liable and accountable for allowing such advertisements to be published on their website.12 Many advocates fought hard against these two companies. They wanted the sex advertisements on these websites to be criminalized, and to put an end to the use of online classified ads to exploit both adults and children.

 

President of the United States, President Trump, Signs McCaul’s Bill to Combat Human Trafficking into Law 2/16/2018 | Courtesy of Google Images

The most recent legislation dealing with online sex trafficking was introduced by the Senate. Earlier this year, it was passed by Congress. This piece of legislation is an anti-sex-trafficking bill known as the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. This act is an exception to Section 230 of the CDA. This Act states, “section 230 was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that facilitate traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts with sex trafficking victims; and that clarification of section 230 is warranted to ensure that that section does not provide such protection to such websites.13 Essentially, this Act allows for sex trafficking victims to sue the websites through which they were trafficked. As a result from the passing of this bill, Craigslist shut down its personal ad section; however, this website remains active today. Backpage, on the other hand, was seized by the FBI and it remains seized to this day. Although action was taken against these websites, there are still several other active websites similar to Craigslist and Backpage. Those who relied on the two sites for sex trafficking have turned to other places on the internet. Shutting down sex advertisements in these cases have not stopped pimps from trafficking young girls and women online; it has just moved their operations to other providers. Despite efforts to target and censor websites like Craigslist and Backpage, trafficking displacement is an inevitable consequence.14 The FBI, however, is making an effort to monitor different forms of illegal activities online, especially sex trafficking. One way we can help fight online sex trafficking is by going after those websites that allow it to happen. If you go to the FBI website, you will find information on how to report instances of human trafficking. The FBI informs us to call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) if we believe that we are a victim of a trafficking situation or if we have information on a potential trafficking situation. We can reach the NHTRC at  1-888-373-7888, where we can talk to specialists who answer calls at anytime from anywhere. 15 Do not be afraid to seek out help or to report what you believe may be a trafficking situation. Let’s help put an end to online sex trafficking!

  1. Shana M. Judge, “The Effect of Measures Taken by Craigslist to Screen Online Ads for Commercial Sex,” Social Science Computer Review 36, no. 3 (June 2018): 298.
  2. Marie- Helen Maras, “Online Classified Advertisement Sites: Pimps and Facilitators of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking,” Journal of Internet Law 21, no. 5 (2017): 17.
  3. Erin Heil and Andrea Nichols, “Hot Spot Trafficking: A Theoretical Discussion of the Potential Problems Associated with Targeted Policing and the Eradication of Sex Trafficking in the United States,” Contemporary Justice Review 17, no. 4 (2014): 422.
  4. Shana M. Judge, “The Effect of Measures Taken by Craigslist to Screen Online Ads for Commercial Sex,” Social Science Computer Review 36, no. 3 (June 2018): 298.
  5. Shana M. Judge, “The Effect of Measures Taken by Craigslist to Screen Online Ads for Commercial Sex,” Social Science Computer Review 36, no. 3 (June 2018): 299.
  6. Erin Heil and Andrea Nichols, “Hot Spot Trafficking: A Theoretical Discussion of the Potential Problems Associated with Targeted Policing and the Eradication of Sex Trafficking in the United States,” Contemporary Justice Review 17, no. 4 (2014): 428.
  7. Erin Heil and Andrea Nichols, “Hot Spot Trafficking: A Theoretical Discussion of the Potential Problems Associated with Targeted Policing and the Eradication of Sex Trafficking in the United States,” Contemporary Justice Review 17, no. 4 (2014): 429.
  8. Kerianne Strachan, “Doe v. Backpage.com: The United States Court of Appeals Further Extends Immunity for Internet Service Providers Under the Communications Decency Act,” Tulane Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property 19, (2016): 262 and 47 U.S. Code § 230 – Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material, and S.652 – Telecommunications Act of 1996 enacted by 104th Congress (1995-1996).
  9. § 230. Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material, 47 USCS § 230 ( Current through PL 115-253, approved 10/3/18 ). https://advance-lexis-com.blume.stmarytx.edu/api/document?collection=statutes-legislation&id=urn:contentItem:4YF7-GV61-NRF4-44C3-00000-00&context=1516831.
  10. § 230. Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material, 47 USCS § 230 ( Current through PL 115-253, approved 10/3/18 ). https://advance-lexis-com.blume.stmarytx.edu/api/document?collection=statutes-legislation&id=urn:contentItem:4YF7-GV61-NRF4-44C3-00000-00&context=1516831.
  11. Marie-Helen Maras, “Online Classified Advertisement Sites: Pimps and Facilitators of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking,” Journal of Internet Law 21, no. 5 (2017): 18.
  12. Shana M. Judge, “The Effect of Measures Taken by Craigslist to Screen Online Ads for Commercial Sex,” Social Science Computer Review 36, no. 3 (June 2018): 298.
  13. S. 1693, 115th Cong. (2018) Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (enacted).
  14. Erin Heil and Andrea Nichols, “Hot Spot Trafficking: A Theoretical Discussion of the Potential Problems Associated with Targeted Policing and the Eradication of Sex Trafficking in the United States,” Contemporary Justice Review 17, no. 4 (2014): 432.
  15. “Human Trafficking/Involuntary Servitude.” FBI. May 03, 2016. Accessed October 30, 2018. https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/civil-rights/human-trafficking.

Cynthia Rodriguez

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Recent Comments

180 comments

  • Adam Portillo

    This was a very eye opening article to read. I would highly recommend this article to others. It’s such a shame that craigslist and back page would let this happen on their websites. It’s even more of a shame that it’s almost like they turned a blind eye to it and acted oblivious to sex-trafficking on their sites. Awesome article on an issue that needs more awareness then we think. Human and sex trafficking is hidden all around us and we should do more to put an end to it.

  • Antoinette Johnson

    The internet is a dangerous place. With sites like Craigslist and Backpage, it makes it easier for pimps and sex traffickers to exploit women and sell them for a profit. What makes these sites especially dangerous is the fact that they are protected under sections of the constitution. The company does not care about the lives that are at risk. They care for the profit the site brings to them. This leads to the need for everyone to be cautious and safe on the internet.

  • Avery Looney

    This article was very interesting and well researched. This article is well deserving of its nomination for the best crime article. Before I read this I had no idea that Craigslist and Blacklist both had sex trafficking issues on their website. Neither website went to the lengths needed to end the sex trafficking issues or protect the victims that were being exposed on their website. Overall the article is a great read and very deserving of an award. Congrats on the nomination!

  • Belene Cuellar

    It is truly heartbreaking to see these websites allow these people to sex traffic minors online. The cycle never stops and once a website gets checked, the predators just move to another website to continue selling. It’s like no matter what we do they find another way to sell minors. I wish there was more we could do to finally end this. I can’t imagine the pain these people go through every day and getting sold to random strangers at such a young age.

  • Megan Copeland

    This article was very interesting to read about. I have never heard about Craigslist and Backpage being used as forms of sex trafficking. It makes sense now that I have read this article. I am glad that it was discovered so that the authorities could put a stop to it. I think this article is very well deserving of the award nomination for best article in the category of crime. I would have thought that well known websites such as these would have better security.

  • Sabrina Hsu

    I’m really glad I read this article and became informed of the sex trafficking that was happening on these websites. I had no idea this was happening and it’s so frustrating that the first time it was taken to court the websites weren’t blamed for it. I’m glad Backpage had now been seized by the FBI so people can no longer use it. Even though Craigslist has removed the personal ad section, I’m sure people still work around that and put it in different areas of the website. I hope they continue to monitor and look out for those things because it is so wrong what those people are doing.

  • Mariah Garcia

    As of today, sex trafficking is a major issue. Sites such as Craigslist, I believe, is a network of continued exploitation for many illegal things such as sex trafficking. These sites seem to care less for what is shown on their website because if it’s bringing in profit then it will be continuous. I wasn’t aware that these ads were safe because of the 1st Amendment, however that isn’t the case now. Sadly, I do think that somewhere on these sites such as Craigslist and Backpage there are still ads and offers of sex trafficking. This is an issue that will remain for a very long time.

  • Pamela Callahan

    It is hard to believe that such horrific things go on in our world. Craigslist and Backpage were created to sell products not people. It reminds me of the past, how people used to buy and sell slaves for their own personal use. Our world seems on the exterior to have come a long way since the days of slavery, but maybe, upon closer inspection, it hasn’t. The only thing that seems to have changed is the method through which they are obtained and the purpose for which they are being used.

  • Crystal Baeza

    This was such an informative article and needed to be put out there for others to be aware. It’s sickening how big of an issue sex trafficking as become across the country and other parts of the world. You would think a popular website such as Craigslist would be protective of their clients but instead are doing the opposite to put a stop into this inhumane act. I’m glad the FBI became aware of the situation and are applying laws to put an end to this issue. Congratulations on your nomination, your topic is a crime that should be talked about to warn others!

  • Jose Fernandez

    Congratulations on the nomination! There are many crime articles in this website and this is definitely one of the bests. The story is crazy and I think everyone should be aware of it ! Who would have thought that websites that are used daily by many people are also used for horrendous crimes. This is a very intense story and I think it is important that everyone knows about the dangers of these websites. In my opinion, websites were situations like sex trafficking occur should be disabled and investigated. This article is very well written and I can tell the author did a lot of quality research prior to its writing.

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