Regardless of the eventual outcome, a recent decision from the Washington State Supreme Court could play an important role in bringing the sex trafficking of minors out of the shadows.
The justices ruled 6-3 last week that a lawsuit against Backpage.com may proceed, giving three survivors of child prostitution in Washington an avenue for seeking justice. Lawyers for Backpage.com, which is owned by Village Voice Media Holdings and is the nation’s most notorious outlet for commercial sex, argued that the site is protected by the federal Communications Decency Act because content is created by third parties rather than by the publishers.
But, as Justice Steven Gonzalez wrote for the majority: The plaintiffs “have alleged sufficient facts that, if proved, would show that the defendants helped to produce the illegal content and therefore are subject to liability under state law.”
Whether the plaintiffs can prove those facts will be a matter for a future court to decide. But the case is crucial in that it shines a light on a dark aspect of society. Gonzalez wrote: “The plaintiffs before us have been the repeated victims of horrific acts committed in the shadows of the law. They brought this suit in part to bring light to some of those shadows: to show how children are bought and sold for sexual services online on Backpage.com in advertisements that, they allege, the defendants help develop.”
Two of the victims were in the seventh grade and a third was 15 at the time they came under the control of pimps who repeatedly sold them online. Those facts point out the depravity of this underbelly of American culture. Not only does Backpage.com post thinly veiled prostitution ads, the prevalence of the industry makes those actions profitable ones for Village Voice Media Holdings. According to an estimate from AIM Group, Backpage.com generated more than $22 million from its variety of sex ads in 2012.
That is a situation that calls for scrutiny in the light of day. The advancement of the Washington court case will provide some of that; so will a case in Chicago in which a federal judge has ruled that Backpage.com’s “adult services” section “overwhelmingly contains advertisements for prostitution, including the prostitution of minors.”
In addition, the work of Vancouver-based Shared Hope International, founded by former Congresswoman Linda Smith, long has helped to bring the issue of sex trafficking out of the shadows. Sexual exploitation, particularly of minors, often is easily dismissed as the province of Third World countries. But as Smith’s organization has demonstrated since its founding in 1998, such exploitation crosses all boundaries and cultural norms.
The lawsuit that was the subject of last week’s state Supreme Court ruling was originally filed in 2012 in Pierce County Superior Court, claiming that Backpage.com provides pimps with instructions on how to successfully write an ad that generates business. Erik Bauer, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, praised the decision: “It says it’s not legal to help pimps sell kids, even if you’re a website operator.” So did state Attorney General Bob Ferguson: “Today’s decision is an important victory in the long-running fight to combat sex trafficking of minors.”
Yes it is. Because even if plaintiffs eventually fail to prove that Backpage.com plays a direct role in such trafficking, it no longer will be able to hide in the shadows of the Internet’s darkest corners. And sunshine, after all, is the best disinfectant.
