Today, U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Backpage's request to stay their landmark victory in their contempt action against Backpage.com and its CEO, Carl Ferrer. As a result, Backpage must now turn over all documents under subpoena to PSI within 10 days. This case marks the first time in more than 20 years that the Senate has enforced a subpoena in court.
"Today's ruling is a major step forward in our efforts to stop the scourge of online human trafficking and stand up for its thousands of innocent victims across the United States," Portman said. "With this decision, we look forward to examining the subpoenaed documents that Backpage has withheld. We are committed to continuing our bipartisan investigation and ensuring that our laws effectively protect the most vulnerable from sex traffickers and businesses that aid them."
"Backpage is finally running out of legal maneuvers to avoid complying with a lawful subpoena the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to enforce in federal court," said McCaskill, a former sex crimes prosecutor. "Today's ruling means we're one step closer to getting to the bottom of what if any businesses practices and policies this company has to prevent criminal activity--and we're looking forward to reviewing these documents in our ongoing investigation of the scourge of sex trafficking on the internet."
The Subcommittee began its bipartisan investigation of human trafficking on the Internet in April 2015. With estimated annual revenues of more than $150 million, Backpage is a market leader in commercial sex advertising and has been linked to hundreds of reported cases of sex trafficking, including the trafficking of children. After Backpage refused to comply with a subpoena issued by Portman and McCaskill, the Senate passed a civil contempt resolution by a vote of 96-0 to authorize a lawsuit against Backpage.
On August 5, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer ordered Ferrer to comply with the subpoena and hand over documents within 10 days. Judge Collyer's opinion called Backpage's refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena "untenable and without legal support," and concluded that "[u]nderstanding the magnitude of Internet sex trafficking and how to stop it substantially outweighs Mr. Ferrer's undefined interests." Backpage asked the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., to stay Judge Collyer's order, but the court denied that motion today. Backpage now has 10 days to comply with the subpoena or risk contempt of court.