You’ve probably heard that Backpage has removed the “adult services” page from their website. This is a small victory in the fight against child sexual exploitation and human trafficking (a fight in which so many groups and individuals--like you--are participating). No court order or other legal action forced them to do this, although the company is blaming “government censorship” for the removal of the section. Furthermore, at any time Backpage may reopen the page. (In the meantime, the ads have simply moved to Backpage’s dating and massage sections.) In our excitement about this development, we should not lose sight of the end goal, which is to be able to hold all web sites accountable for their part in advertising and profiting from victims of sex trafficking. The Communications Decency Act (CDA) still has Section 230, which is used to shield businesses that knowingly profit from human exploitation. (Backpage is attempting to use this as a defense in the ongoing case against them.) Amending the CDA, so that businesses are not protected when they actively profit from child sex trafficking (and trafficking of adults), will prevent another website such as this one from flourishing. Help us get the CDA amended in order to hold websites accountable when they knowingly profit from human trafficking, and especially when they actively edit advertisements. (In the Backpage case, “The [Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations] found that Backpage wasn’t just hosting adult ads people posted on their site, it was actively editing them -- erasing words that would indicate underage trafficking.”--ABC News [see media link]) Demanding responsibility from those profiting from and facilitating human trafficking is not censorship--it’s a logical step in both our criminal justice system and in the fight for freedom. Thank you for your support and for sharing our petition with your friends! Don’t stop just yet--will you ask one person to sign today to help us reach 10,000? Sincerely, ENC Stop Human Trafficking NOW *Check out the statement release by Polaris Project in the link: https://polarisproject.org/news/press-releases/polaris-statement-backpagecom