Federal law may not shield Backpage.com in suit by trafficked girls, state supreme court says
The Washington Supreme Court has ruled the Communications Decency Act may not shield Backpage.com from liability in a suit by three girls who were trafficked on the website.
The suit alleges that Backpage.com helped develop the ads for the girls through its posted rules, making the site more than just a Web host that is protected by the federal law, the court said in a 6-3 decision. The Associated Press, the Seattle Times and the Kent Reporter have stories. How Appealing links to the decision (PDF).
The federal law gives websites immunity from suits based on the content of ads composed and posted by others.
The suit alleges Backpage’s advertisement posting rules were “designed to help pimps develop advertisements that can evade the unwanted attention of law enforcement, while still conveying the illegal message.” The rules bar naked images, transparent clothing, sexually explicit language, suggestions of an exchange of sex for money, and offers of illegal services.
The court said fact-finding needs to be allowed to determine whether Backpage designed its posting rules to induce sex trafficking.
Lawyer Erik Bauer represented the girls. He told the Associated Press the plaintiffs were in the seventh and ninth grades when they were sold as prostitutes by adult traffickers on Backpage.
