The Consequences Persist for Sex Workers Years After Kamala Harris's Efforts to Close Backpage.com
"She was the one who truly initiated everything," stated her former deputy.
TroibNews 
In 2016, California prosecutors considered a bold move to eliminate the internet's leading platform for sex-related services.
Their leader, Kamala Harris, urged her team to pursue criminal charges against the founders of Backpage.com. This marked the initiation of the first criminal case against the site, solidifying Harris’ tough-on-crime image during her time as state attorney general.
As she campaigns for the presidency, Harris boasts about her record as a prosecutor, specifically her initiatives to fight human trafficking. She prominently mentioned Backpage’s shutdown at the Democratic National Convention.
“Every politician of every party is on the bandwagon to say what they've done to fight human trafficking, right?” remarked Maggy Krell, a former deputy in Harris’ office who was involved in the Backpage case. “What's unique about Harris is she started it all. She literally started it all.”
Although the charges against Backpage never went to trial, they initiated a nationwide crackdown on similar sites, leading to a federal case that has persisted for nearly a decade.
Recently, the site’s 76-year-old co-founder received a five-year prison sentence for federal money laundering, and he reported to prison while his legal team appeals the decision.
However, some advocates on the left criticize Harris’ approach—arguing that it was excessively punitive. They assert that, before its closure, Backpage primarily served as an essential resource for sex workers to connect safely with clients and that its cooperation with authorities actually aided in identifying trafficking victims. They contend that shutting down the site merely pushed consensual sex work into more dangerous areas of the internet, hindering efforts to address serious issues like underage or coerced prostitution.
“Unfortunately, Kamala Harris is just one of many, many politicians to conflate adult, consensual prostitution with horrific, violent, gender-based violence,” noted Kaytlin Bailey, host of “The Oldest Profession Podcast” and founder of Old Pros, which champions the decriminalization of sex work.
Harris’ campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comments regarding her role in the Backpage shutdown or her current stance on the criminalization of prostitution, a stance on which she has shown inconsistency. Early in her prosecutorial career, she openly mocked the idea of decriminalizing sex work, advocating for the arrests of sex workers. Yet, in 2019, as she sought to appeal to the left during her initial presidential campaign, she softened her position.
Now, as she faces Donald Trump for undecided voters, a notable change in the Democratic Party's platform indicates her earlier hard-line stance may still linger. When Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination in 2020, the party’s platform vowed to “work with states and localities to protect the lives of sex workers.” However, no such pledge appears in the platform adopted last month after Harris became the Democratic nominee.
Backpage’s founders, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, initially were not aiming to create a sex-advertising site; they were journalists. They built an empire of alternative weekly newspapers starting in the 1970s that eventually included the Village Voice. Their journalism, supported by inexpensive print classified ads—some of which contained veiled prostitution solicitations—began to crumble with the internet age and sites like Craigslist cutting significantly into their revenue.
In response, they launched Backpage.com in 2004. The site quickly filled the gap after Craigslist halted adult ads due to law enforcement pressures, making it a destination for buying and selling sexual services.
As Backpage grew, it attracted numerous lawsuits and inquiries related to allegations of facilitating prostitution and potential complicity in sex trafficking. The site's owners defended themselves under the First Amendment, arguing that their platform did not directly solicit illegal activity and that imposing legal liability for ambiguous ads would infringe on free speech. For years, they avoided significant legal repercussions.
By 2016, California attorneys were increasingly concerned about Backpage’s role in sex trafficking cases they were investigating and began looking into its finances, considering criminal charges against the owners.
Harris expressed strong interest in the case, as noted by Krell. “She was the first one out of the foxhole on Backpage,” Krell recalled. “I remember the conversation really well. She was really concerned about the victims.”
There were discussions of possible child pornography charges against the owners. While prosecutors ultimately settled on state-court criminal charges—including “pimping conspiracy” against Lacey and Larkin, and several more against Backpage’s CEO, Carl Ferrer—they alleged that the defendants purposely designed Backpage to evade detection of underage sex ads.
“This is outrageous, despicable and illegal,” Harris stated when announcing the charges. “Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world’s top online brothel.”
Harris continued her focus on Backpage in the Senate, participating in a hearing just a week after taking office in January 2017. The hearing followed a damning report indicating that Backpage knowingly facilitated criminal behavior, including trafficking minors.
Facing tough questions, Lacey and Larkin invoked their Fifth Amendment rights while their silence was filled by senators, including Harris. “This is a new world because of technology,” she said. “This stuff usually happened on the street. It now facilitates, because of technology, cowards, both in terms of those who traffic and those who buy other human beings who are children.”
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill echoed Harris’ outrage, emphasizing their similar backgrounds as prosecutors. Critics, however, have labeled the pursuit of Backpage as politically motivated.
“The whole story of the pursuit of Backpage is one of political opportunism,” asserted Robert Corn-Revere, who represented Backpage in earlier legal matters. “It’s a bigger story about government abuse.”
As the California case faced challenges, a judge dismissed initial charges based on a ruling that the defendants were protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. That statute generally shields website operators from liability for user-generated content, allowing them to moderate for “obscene” material without assuming full legal responsibility.
The irony of this dismissal was noted, as Harris had previously signed a complaint in 2013 calling for the amendment of Section 230 for particular criminal cases. California prosecutors opted not to appeal that dismissal but filed a new criminal case focused on money laundering just days before Harris assumed her Senate role.
A portion of this new case was dismissed, but money laundering charges against Lacey remain active. Meanwhile, the California prosecution provided a model for a sweeping federal case that was launched a year and a half later.
On February 6, 2018, a massive federal crackdown shuttered Backpage, with FBI agents raiding the homes of Lacey and Larkin. They were joined on a 93-count indictment charging them with facilitating illegal prostitution and money laundering.
In the notice for the seizure of Backpage.com, the federal authorities credited the California attorney general's office for their role in the crackdown. “She filed the first criminal case, ever, against Backpage,” Krell noted. “We still see the legal embers on that burning, but it was the California case that really started the whole shutdown of Backpage.”
The federal case has led to a complex legal journey that continues to unfold. Ferrer accepted a plea deal but subsequent trials faced hurdles, including a mistrial in 2021 due to prosecutorial missteps regarding child trafficking references.
Tragedy struck when Larkin died by suicide just before a second trial in August 2023, which supporters claim was a result of relentless legal challenges. “Jim Larkin was a gentle soul who just finally couldn't take it anymore,” Corn-Revere said.
Following Larkin’s passing, Lacey faced trial, resulting in a conviction for money laundering. He was acquitted on another charge, but 31 counts remain pending.
Recently, Lacey was sentenced to five years in prison—an outcome that has stirred debate about the impact of Harris' prosecutorial decisions. As he began his sentence, Lacey expressed his belief that the case against Backpage was misguided, claiming, “We thought the ads were legal. … This was a moral panic that got out of hand.”
As Harris runs for higher office, her handling of the Backpage case is a pivotal aspect of her campaign. In 2019, she defended her actions regarding the site, stating, “Backpage was providing advertisement for the sale of children—of minors... I have no regrets about that.”
Now, as she battles Trump, she views her tough-on-crime record as a strength in the general election landscape. Notably, a self-identified Backpage victim spoke at the DNC, aligning with this narrative.
While her past fervently opposed the decriminalization of prostitution, it remains unclear where Harris stands on the issue presently. In a 2019 interview, she mentioned that she did not support the arrest of sex workers, contradicting her earlier statements found in her book, “Smart on Crime,” where she called for arrests of all involved in sex work.
Since stepping into her current role, Harris has adjusted her stance on several progressive policies, leaving many to speculate about her views on decriminalization.
As advocates express concerns over her involvement in the Backpage prosecution, they remain wary but recognize the necessity of voting against Trump. “We’re getting a cop, basically, as a president, but is it better than the dictator we were gonna have otherwise? Yeah,” Andrews remarked.
Mathilde Moreau contributed to this report for TROIB News
Their leader, Kamala Harris, urged her team to pursue criminal charges against the founders of Backpage.com. This marked the initiation of the first criminal case against the site, solidifying Harris’ tough-on-crime image during her time as state attorney general.
As she campaigns for the presidency, Harris boasts about her record as a prosecutor, specifically her initiatives to fight human trafficking. She prominently mentioned Backpage’s shutdown at the Democratic National Convention.
“Every politician of every party is on the bandwagon to say what they've done to fight human trafficking, right?” remarked Maggy Krell, a former deputy in Harris’ office who was involved in the Backpage case. “What's unique about Harris is she started it all. She literally started it all.”
Although the charges against Backpage never went to trial, they initiated a nationwide crackdown on similar sites, leading to a federal case that has persisted for nearly a decade.
Recently, the site’s 76-year-old co-founder received a five-year prison sentence for federal money laundering, and he reported to prison while his legal team appeals the decision.
However, some advocates on the left criticize Harris’ approach—arguing that it was excessively punitive. They assert that, before its closure, Backpage primarily served as an essential resource for sex workers to connect safely with clients and that its cooperation with authorities actually aided in identifying trafficking victims. They contend that shutting down the site merely pushed consensual sex work into more dangerous areas of the internet, hindering efforts to address serious issues like underage or coerced prostitution.
“Unfortunately, Kamala Harris is just one of many, many politicians to conflate adult, consensual prostitution with horrific, violent, gender-based violence,” noted Kaytlin Bailey, host of “The Oldest Profession Podcast” and founder of Old Pros, which champions the decriminalization of sex work.
Harris’ campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comments regarding her role in the Backpage shutdown or her current stance on the criminalization of prostitution, a stance on which she has shown inconsistency. Early in her prosecutorial career, she openly mocked the idea of decriminalizing sex work, advocating for the arrests of sex workers. Yet, in 2019, as she sought to appeal to the left during her initial presidential campaign, she softened her position.
Now, as she faces Donald Trump for undecided voters, a notable change in the Democratic Party's platform indicates her earlier hard-line stance may still linger. When Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination in 2020, the party’s platform vowed to “work with states and localities to protect the lives of sex workers.” However, no such pledge appears in the platform adopted last month after Harris became the Democratic nominee.
Backpage’s founders, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, initially were not aiming to create a sex-advertising site; they were journalists. They built an empire of alternative weekly newspapers starting in the 1970s that eventually included the Village Voice. Their journalism, supported by inexpensive print classified ads—some of which contained veiled prostitution solicitations—began to crumble with the internet age and sites like Craigslist cutting significantly into their revenue.
In response, they launched Backpage.com in 2004. The site quickly filled the gap after Craigslist halted adult ads due to law enforcement pressures, making it a destination for buying and selling sexual services.
As Backpage grew, it attracted numerous lawsuits and inquiries related to allegations of facilitating prostitution and potential complicity in sex trafficking. The site's owners defended themselves under the First Amendment, arguing that their platform did not directly solicit illegal activity and that imposing legal liability for ambiguous ads would infringe on free speech. For years, they avoided significant legal repercussions.
By 2016, California attorneys were increasingly concerned about Backpage’s role in sex trafficking cases they were investigating and began looking into its finances, considering criminal charges against the owners.
Harris expressed strong interest in the case, as noted by Krell. “She was the first one out of the foxhole on Backpage,” Krell recalled. “I remember the conversation really well. She was really concerned about the victims.”
There were discussions of possible child pornography charges against the owners. While prosecutors ultimately settled on state-court criminal charges—including “pimping conspiracy” against Lacey and Larkin, and several more against Backpage’s CEO, Carl Ferrer—they alleged that the defendants purposely designed Backpage to evade detection of underage sex ads.
“This is outrageous, despicable and illegal,” Harris stated when announcing the charges. “Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world’s top online brothel.”
Harris continued her focus on Backpage in the Senate, participating in a hearing just a week after taking office in January 2017. The hearing followed a damning report indicating that Backpage knowingly facilitated criminal behavior, including trafficking minors.
Facing tough questions, Lacey and Larkin invoked their Fifth Amendment rights while their silence was filled by senators, including Harris. “This is a new world because of technology,” she said. “This stuff usually happened on the street. It now facilitates, because of technology, cowards, both in terms of those who traffic and those who buy other human beings who are children.”
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill echoed Harris’ outrage, emphasizing their similar backgrounds as prosecutors. Critics, however, have labeled the pursuit of Backpage as politically motivated.
“The whole story of the pursuit of Backpage is one of political opportunism,” asserted Robert Corn-Revere, who represented Backpage in earlier legal matters. “It’s a bigger story about government abuse.”
As the California case faced challenges, a judge dismissed initial charges based on a ruling that the defendants were protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. That statute generally shields website operators from liability for user-generated content, allowing them to moderate for “obscene” material without assuming full legal responsibility.
The irony of this dismissal was noted, as Harris had previously signed a complaint in 2013 calling for the amendment of Section 230 for particular criminal cases. California prosecutors opted not to appeal that dismissal but filed a new criminal case focused on money laundering just days before Harris assumed her Senate role.
A portion of this new case was dismissed, but money laundering charges against Lacey remain active. Meanwhile, the California prosecution provided a model for a sweeping federal case that was launched a year and a half later.
On February 6, 2018, a massive federal crackdown shuttered Backpage, with FBI agents raiding the homes of Lacey and Larkin. They were joined on a 93-count indictment charging them with facilitating illegal prostitution and money laundering.
In the notice for the seizure of Backpage.com, the federal authorities credited the California attorney general's office for their role in the crackdown. “She filed the first criminal case, ever, against Backpage,” Krell noted. “We still see the legal embers on that burning, but it was the California case that really started the whole shutdown of Backpage.”
The federal case has led to a complex legal journey that continues to unfold. Ferrer accepted a plea deal but subsequent trials faced hurdles, including a mistrial in 2021 due to prosecutorial missteps regarding child trafficking references.
Tragedy struck when Larkin died by suicide just before a second trial in August 2023, which supporters claim was a result of relentless legal challenges. “Jim Larkin was a gentle soul who just finally couldn't take it anymore,” Corn-Revere said.
Following Larkin’s passing, Lacey faced trial, resulting in a conviction for money laundering. He was acquitted on another charge, but 31 counts remain pending.
Recently, Lacey was sentenced to five years in prison—an outcome that has stirred debate about the impact of Harris' prosecutorial decisions. As he began his sentence, Lacey expressed his belief that the case against Backpage was misguided, claiming, “We thought the ads were legal. … This was a moral panic that got out of hand.”
As Harris runs for higher office, her handling of the Backpage case is a pivotal aspect of her campaign. In 2019, she defended her actions regarding the site, stating, “Backpage was providing advertisement for the sale of children—of minors... I have no regrets about that.”
Now, as she battles Trump, she views her tough-on-crime record as a strength in the general election landscape. Notably, a self-identified Backpage victim spoke at the DNC, aligning with this narrative.
While her past fervently opposed the decriminalization of prostitution, it remains unclear where Harris stands on the issue presently. In a 2019 interview, she mentioned that she did not support the arrest of sex workers, contradicting her earlier statements found in her book, “Smart on Crime,” where she called for arrests of all involved in sex work.
Since stepping into her current role, Harris has adjusted her stance on several progressive policies, leaving many to speculate about her views on decriminalization.
As advocates express concerns over her involvement in the Backpage prosecution, they remain wary but recognize the necessity of voting against Trump. “We’re getting a cop, basically, as a president, but is it better than the dictator we were gonna have otherwise? Yeah,” Andrews remarked.
Mathilde Moreau contributed to this report for TROIB News
