Will the First Amendment Protect Backpage.com From Pimping Charges?
The website has benefited from constitutional protections, but now there’s a prosecution to contend with.
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Backpage.com’s business model is that of an online classified marketplace, similar in structure to Craigslist, where people who want to sell a couch or rent an apartment post an ad. But Backpage is better known as one of the biggest web platforms for sex ads and prostitution. Craigslist’s decision to shut down its “adult” section in 2010 drove a lot of business to Backpage, as well as lot of unwanted attention from law enforcement.
Five years later, that attention has blossomed into a felony prosecution.