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Feinstein: Report on Backpage.com Shows Need to Crack Down on Sex Traffickers Online

Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement on a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report on Backpage.com and the website’s role in facilitating sex trafficking over the Internet:

“The bipartisan report released by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is explosive. It lays out, in great detail, how Backpage.com knowingly facilitated the sale of young girls for sex over the Internet.

“This report clearly shows the need for the law that I passed with former Senator Mark Kirk that makes those who knowingly advertise minors for sex criminally liable.

“If the activity detailed in today’s report had occurred after our law was enacted in 2015, it could have been used to bring charges against Backpage.com. While the website shut down its adult services section last night, to my great relief, other websites will undoubtedly seek to profit off the exploitation of minor trafficking victims. Federal law criminalizing this conduct must be used to go after them and stop this heinous crime.”

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