Office of Attorney General
Responses to Justice Systems Appropriations Subcommittee
February 25, 2019
At its meeting on February 7, 2019, members of the Justice Systems Appropriations
Subcommittee posed several questions to Attorney General Tom Miller:

1. What accounts for the rise in the number of consumer complaints filed in 2018?
It is difficult to fully explain the increase in written consumer complaints received by the Office
of Attorney General (“Office”). One reason may be the Office’s attempt to augment its outreach and
education by having a mobile office in all portions of the state. In addition, members of the Office’s
Consumer Protection Division travelled around the state, giving 33 presentations to over 7,200 Iowans.
From Sioux City to Algona to Glenwood to Dubuque to Iowa City to Creston.
The Office has seen sizable increases in several categories of complaints: Imposter scam
complaints have increased from 161 to 339, making them the number two complaint category. Auto
repair complaints went up nearly 48% and home improvement complaints rose 25%.
The Ombudsman’s Office has also experienced an up-tick in complaints.

2.

What efficiencies have been achieved in the Office?

Notwithstanding fiscal constraints, the Office has achieved several efficiencies through
technology.
The Office has an extensive contract with Thompson/Reuters (West) for on-line legal research.
The Office has upgraded to Office 365, with email cloud storage. The Office has a robust case
management software, ProLaw. With the closure of the state records center, all pleadings, briefs, and
related documents are electronically stored with a matter in ProLaw.
With respect to civil litigation, the Office has contracted with Everlaw for document storage,
review, and e-discovery. With respect to criminal litigation, the Office is working with the Iowa County
Attorneys’ Case Management Project for the exchange of criminal case information and importation
into ProLaw.

3. Can you provide more details about the caseload of the Area Prosecution Division?
In Iowa, county attorneys have original jurisdiction for the prosecution of most all crimes.
However, when there is a conflict-of-interest or lack of resources/experience, county attorneys may
refer serious criminal cases to the Office to assist in the prosecution. The Office’s Area Prosecutions
Division (“Division”) has 7 experienced prosecutors who handle some of the most difficult criminal cases
in the state. An additional prosecutor is assigned to prosecute the Sexually Violent Predator
commitment caseload. Here are some statistics for calendar year 2018:
•

Division had pending cases in 67 counties.

1

 •

•
•
•
•
•

•

•

•

•

Opened 106 cases – 85 filed cases and 21 investigations. These numbers only reflect new
cases referred to the office in calendar year 2018. There are a number of cases that are
referred that remain pending for more than a year or are carried over from one year to the
next.
Of the cases opened in 2018, 28 defendants were charged with Murder 1 or Murder2.
Of the cases opened in 2018, 23 had an element of sexual abuse.
Rest of the cases were Robbery 1, Robbery 2, Attempted Murder, Vehicular Homicide, Child
Endangerment, Theft 1, Willful Injury, Kidnapping 1, Kidnapping 2, and Burglary 1.
Division tried 32 cases to verdict in 27 counties. All but 3 of those cases resulted in guilty
verdicts. On average, each area prosecutor will try between 4 and 6 trials to verdict each
calendar year.
The average pending caseload of an area prosecutor is 15 cases. There have been occasions
when a single area prosecutor has carried over 15 cases on a docket. In several instances,
there are cases with multiple defendants that may require a separate trial for each
defendant. There is no way to predict when a caseload may fluctuate up or down.
Most cases are not “garden variety” or routine. The fact that they are not routine is usually
a prerequisite for the case being referred to the Division. The nature of the cases referred
do not typically lend themselves to plea agreements, although some cases are resolved by
plea.
Most cases that go to trial require hundreds of hours of work that includes, but is not
limited, to (1) meetings with state and local law enforcement to ensure a proper
investigation; (2) meetings with victims and the family of victims to provide them updated
information about a pending case and to prepare them for trial; (3) review of hundreds or
sometimes thousands of documents and videos in a particular case; (4) preparation for
depositions and trial that includes significant time spent preparing witnesses; (5)
preparation for the trial that includes significant time preparing witnesses, outlines, exhibits
and (6) other matters that are necessary to competently try a complex criminal case.
Most cases require extensive travel that many times include overnight stays. On average,
each area prosecutor was required to stay 40 nights on the road. Cases are prosecuted in all
four corners of the state which, even if overnight stays are not required, include significant
travel time to reach the location of the case.
Area prosecutors are required to juggle schedules that cross over multiple judicial district
court administration offices which each have their own priority dates for trials, motions and
other court matters. In many instances, these dates conflict and require additional effort to
schedule even routine matters. All 99 county attorneys who prosecute cases locally deal
with only one district court administration calendar.

The Division also handles the civil commitment of Sexually Violent Predators (“SVPs”). During
fiscal year 2018, the Division prosecuted 19 original SVP commitment trials and 11 annual SVP review
trials. Most of these cases were prosecuted by a single assistant attorney general in the Division.
Currently, 113 SVPs are civilly committed at CCUSO in Cherokee.

4. What can be done regarding the abuse of the Internet to facilitate human
trafficking and other crimes?
Regulating illegal activity on the Internet is a difficult proposition, particularly at the state level.
Nevertheless, the Office is very concerned about this issue and has acted in this arena. In 2011, Iowa

2

 joined the National Association of Attorneys General (“NAAG”) in a demand that Backpage.com comply
with its assurances that the company was not facilitating the sexual exploitation of children and
prostitution. (See attached letter.) Backpage and other internet sites have since discontinued
advertisements and sections that promote prostitution, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation of
children.
NAAG also sent two letters to Congress, one in 2013 and one in 2017 (see attached letter),
urging Congress to amend the Communication Decency Act so state and local governments could
criminally investigate and prosecute online classified websites that promote prostitution and child sex
trafficking. Congress enacted the change in 2018 and according to the Washington Post it “was hailed
by anti-trafficking groups and law enforcement as an important step in fighting online prostitution of
teenagers.”
As discussed at the committee meeting, the Office carries out extensive training with respect to
human trafficking, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety and the Iowa Law Enforcement
Academy. The Office’s Area Prosecution Division has handled at least two human trafficking cases in
cooperation with county attorneys.

3

 RE

National Association
of Attorneys General

PRESIDENT
Derek Schmidt

Kansas Attorney General

PRESIDENT-ELECT
Jeff Landry

Louisiana Attorney General

VICE PRESIDENT
Tim Fox
Montana Attorney General

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
George Jepsen
Connec?cutAttorney General

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
lames McPherson

1850 Street, NW
Twelfth Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 326-6000


 

August 16, 2017

The Honorable Roger Wicker

Chairman

Senate Subcommittee on Communications,
Technology, Innovation and the Internet
Committee on Commerce, Science and
Transportation

The Honorable Brian Schatz

Ranking Member

Senate Subcommittee on Communications,
Technology, Innovation and the Internet
Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation

The Honorable Marsha Blackburn

Chairman

House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications
and Technology

Committee on Energy and Commerce

The Honorable Michael Doyle

Ranking Member

House of Representative Subcommittee on Communications and
Technology

Committee on Energy and Commerce

RE: Amendment of Communications Decency Act

Dear Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Schatz, Chairman Blackburn, and
Ranking Member Doyle:

In 2013, Attorneys General from 49 states and territories wrote to
Congress, informing it that some courts have interpreted the Communications
Decency Act of 1996 to render state and local authorities unable to
take action against companies that actively pro?t from the promotion and
facilitation of sex traf?cking and crimes against children. Unfortunately,
nearly four years later, this problem persists and these criminal pro?teers
often continue to operate With impunity. The recent news highlighting the
potential complicity of online classi?ed-ad company Backpagecom in
soliciting sex traf?ckers? ads for its website once again underscores the need
to expand, not limit, the ability of all law-enforcement agencies to ?ght sex

traf?cking.1 The undersigned Attorneys General once again respectfully request that the United
States Congress amend the CDA to af?rm that state, territorial, and local authorities retain their
traditional jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute those who facilitate illicit acts and endanger
our most vulnerable citizens.

As noted in the 2013 letter, certain federal courts have broadly interpreted the CDA.2 One
high-pro?le result is that some state and local law enforcement agencies have been left powerless
to act against online classi?ed ad services, such as Backpage.com, which have constructed their
business models around advertising income gained from participants in the sex trade.3 Just a few
examples of the countless instances of child sex traf?cking and its online promotion that
occur every day in the United States include the following:

0 Police in Stockton, California recently arrested more than 20 people in a human
traf?cking and prostitution ring. Eight girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were
being traf?cked for sex using advertisements on Backpage.com.4

0 Federal and state law enforcement recently arrested a Chicago man accused of
pimping a 16?year-old girl via Backpage.com, leading to her murder. The man
?shopped [the girl] around on Backpage.com,? delivered her to a customer, and
then fell asleep in his car outside a parking garage. When he awoke, he
discovered the girl?s body in the garage, ?her throat slit and her body badly
beaten.?5

 

1 Tom Jackrnan and Jonathan O?Connell, Backpage has always claimed it doesn ?t control sex-related ads.
New Documents show otherwise, Washington Post, July 11, 2017, available at

1e7-b3 (last visited
July 12,2017).

2 See, e. Senate Permanent Subcommittee v. Ferrer, 199 F. Supp. 3d 125, 136 (BBC. 2016), vacated as
moot, 856 F.3d 1080 (DC. Cir. 2017); Backpage.com, LLC v. McKenna, 881 F. Supp. 2d 1262, 1275 (W.D. Wash.
2012); MA. v. Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC, 809 F. Supp. 2d 1041, 1048?66 (E.D. Mo. 2011); Dart v.
Craigslist, 665 F. Supp. 2d 961, 965 n.6 (ND. 111. 2009); Doe v. Bates, 2006 WL 3813758, at (ED. Tex.
Dec. 27, 2006); see also Google, Inc. v. Hood, 96 F. Supp. 3d 584, 596?98 (S.D. Miss. 2015), vacated remanded
on other grounds, 822 F.3d 212 (5th Cir. 2016).

3 While Backpage.com claims to have shut down its prostitution/escort ads after a US. Senate hearing in
January, there are reports of the ads merely moving to different sections. See Brian Rokos, Backpage. com Removes
?Escort? Ads 0r Does It?, Press-Enterprise, Jan. 11, 2017, available at 
822842-ads-subcommittee.html/ (last visited July 6, 2017); Kevin Litten, New Orleans Backpage Prostitution Ads
New Listed as Dating/Ids, Human Trafficking Experts Say, Times-Picayne, Jan. 17, 2017, available at
nrostitution_new_orle.html (last visited July 6, 2017);
Stephen Koff, Backpage.com Still Appears to Be Running Ads for Prostitutes, Sexual Services, Clevelandcom, Jan.
12, 2017, available at 
(last visited July 6, 2017).

4 Sarah Heise, 23 Arrested for Human raf?cking, Prostitution in San Joaquin County, KCRA 3, May 5,
2017, available at (last
visited June 29, 2017).

5 Feds Charge Man for Prostituting I 6-Year-OZd Girl Before Her Murder, ABC 7 Eyewitness News, June
21, 2017, available at 
murder/2128793/ (last visited June 29, 2017).

0 Police in Georgia recently arrested three people who used Backpage.com to
pimp a pregnant 17?year-old girl.6

0 Police in Florida recently arrested a woman who used Backpage.com to
prostitute a missing 16-year-old girl throughout Broward County.7

Clearly, in these instances, Backpage.com is facilitating and pro?ting from these
illegal activities. However, certain interpretations of the CDA have resulted in companies like
Backpage.com remaining outside the reach of state and local law enforcement in these kinds of
cases. We do not believe that was Congress?s intent in passing the CDA, and we do not believe
that is Congress?s intent now. It is both ironic and tragic that the CDA, which was intended to
protect children from indecent material on the internet,8 is now used as a shield by those who
pro?t from prostitution and crimes against children.

Federal enforcement alone has proved insuf?cient to stem the growth in online promotion
of child sex traf?cking. Those on the front lines of the battle against the sexual exploitation of
children state and local law enforcement must have the clear authority to investigate and
prosecute facilitators of these and other horrible crimes. Thus, we recommend that 47 U.S.C.
230(c)(1) be amended to the following (added language in bold):

Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair
the enforcement of section 223 or 231 of this title,
chapter 71 (relating to obscenity) or 110 (relating

to sexual exploitation of children) of title 18, or any
other Federal, State, or Territorial criminal statute.

We are aware of efforts in Congress to preserve state criminal statutes that prohibit
certain kinds of sexual exploitation and sex traf?cking, and to preserve federal and state statutes
that provide causes of action, restitution, or other civil remedies to victims. We ask that, in
addition to these efforts, Congress consider enacting our proposed change. We believe the CDA
should be clear in preserving both state and territorial law to the same extent that it preserves
federal law the CDA should be clear that it preserves all state and territorial criminal
statutes, just as it preserves all federal criminal statutes. The simple addition this letter proposes
would do just that and will help to ensure that we are able to effectively protect citizens and

 

6 Ross Cavitt, Trio Accused of Pimping Pregnant Teen for Sex, WSB-TV 2, June 23, 2017, available at
ht ltrio-accused-of- im in - re nant-teen-for-sex/539101607 (last
visited June 29, 2017).

     

7 Tonya Alanez, Girl, 19, Accused of Pimping Out Missing I6-Year-Old, Sun Sentinel, June 2, 2017,
available at -storv.html
(last visited June 29, 2017).

8 104 Cong. Rec. 82308-01 (daily ed. June 14, 1995) (statement of Sen. Coats) President, all you
have to do is pick up the telephone and call the FBI, ask their child exploitation task force about the volume of over-
the-Internet attempts to seduce, abuse, and lure children into pornography and sexual exploitation?); 104 Cong.
Rec. H8470 (daily ed. Aug. 4, 1995) (statement of Rep. Cox) (?We want to encourage people like Prodigy, like
CompuServ, like America Online, like the new Microsoft network, to do everything possible for us, the customer, to
help us control, at the portals of our computers, at the front door of our house, what comes in and what our children
see.? .

children throughout the entire country, in all courts. We thank you for your attention to this Vital

matter.

Respectfully, 

  
 

Kan
District of Columbia Attorney General

team

Steve Marshall
Alabama Attorney General

Maxw

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Arizona Attorney General

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California Attorney General

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Delaware Attorney General

Douglas S. Chin
Hawaii Attorney General

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Illinois Attorney General

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Tom Miller
Iowa Attorney General

 



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Florida Attorney General

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Alaska Attorney General
Leslie Rutledge

Arkansas Attorney General

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Colorado Attorney General

  

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Georgia Attorney General

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Idaho Attorney General


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Indiana Attorney General

595.4%

Derek Schmidt
Kansas Attorney General

 

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Kentucky Attorney General



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Maine Attorney General

 

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Michigan Attorney General

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Mississippi Attorney General

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Montana Attorney eneral

 

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Nevada Attorney General

Kg? 
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New Jersey Attorney General

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New York A omey ,General

   

  

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North Dakota Attorney General

Maj;

Jeff Landry
Louisiana Attorney General

Brian rosh
Maryland Attorney General

5&3er

Lori Swanson
Minnesota Attorney General

           

Hawley 
Missouri Attorney General

Douglas Peterson
Nebraska Attorney General

 

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New Hampshire Attorney General

    

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New Mexico Attorney General

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North Carolina Attorney General

3. MN
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Ohio Attorney General

 

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Oklahoma Attorney General

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Attorney General

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Rhode Island Attorney General

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South Dakota Attorney General



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Texas Attorney General

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Vermont Attorney General

Robert W. Ferguson 3
Washington Attorne General



Brad Schimel
Wisconsin Attorney General

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Oregon AttomEGeneral

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Puerto Rico Attorney General

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South Carolina Attorney General

Herbert H. Slatery, 
Tennessee Attorney General

 

Sean Reyes
Utah Attorney General 

    

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Virginia Attorney General

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West Virginia Attorney General

 

Peter K. Michael
Wyoming Attorney General

Copy: The Honorable John Thune, Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation; The Honorable Bill Nelson, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation; The Honorable Greg Walden, Chairman, House
of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce; The Honorable Frank Pallone,
Ranking Member, House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce

   

Ratioaal Associaticn
.iytAtterneys General

 

Passlam?r'
Rob McKean a
Washingtan Atturney Genera!


Doug Gansler
Maryland Niamey General

VIQE Patsmm
La, Van Hotter:
Wisransin Amway Genera!

IMMEOMTE Eras? ?arsiazm
Roy Cooper
North Carolina Attemey Genera!

EXECUTWE DERECTQR
fairies McPherson

2030 Street, NW
Eighth Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 326-6000


 

August 31, 2011

Mr. Samuel ifer

Counsel for Backpage.Com, LLC
SNR Denton US

233 South Wacker Drive

Suite 7800

Chicago, IL 60606-6306

Re: Backpage.com?s ongoing failure to effectively limit
prostitution and sexual traf?cking activity on its website

Mr. Fifer:

This letter is in response to Backpage.com?s assurances, both public
and in private, concerning the company?s facilitation of the sexual exploitation
of children, and prostitution. As our state?s chief law enforcement of?cers,
we are increasingly concerned about human traf?cking, especially the
traf?cking of minors. Backpage.com is a hub for such activity.

While Backpage.com professes to have undertaken efforts to limit
advertisements for prostitution on its website, particularly those soliciting sex
with children, such efforts have proven ineffective. In May, for example, 3
Dorchester, Massachusetts man was charged for forcing a 15-year-old girl into
a motel to have sex with various men for $100 to $150 an hour. To ?nd
customers, the man posted a photo of the girl on Backpage.com. He was later
found with $19,000 in cash. In another example, prosecutors in Washington
state are handling a case in which teen girls say they were coerced, threatened
and extorted by two adults who marketed them on Backpage.com.

We have tracked more than 50 instances, in 22 states over three years,
of charges ?led against those traf?cking or attempting to traf?c minors on
Backpage.com. These are only the stories that made it into the news; many
more instances likely exist. These cases often involve runaways ensnared by
adults seeking to make money by sexually exploiting them. In some cases,
minors are pictured in advertisements. In others, adults are pictured but
minors are substituted at the ?point of sale? in a grossly illegal transaction.

Nearly naked persons in provocative positions are pictured in nearly
every adult services advertisement on Backpage.com and the site requires
advertisements for escorts, and other similar ?services,? to include hourly
rates. It does not require forensic training to understand that these
advertisements are for prostitution. This hub for illegal services has proven
particularly enticing for those seeking to sexually exploit minors.

10

In a meeting with the Washington State Attorney General?s Office, Backpage.com vice
president Carl Ferrer acknowledged that the company identi?es more than 400 ?adult services?
posts every month that may involve minors. This ?gure indicates the extent to which the
trafficking of minors occurs on the site the actual number of minors exploited through
Backpage.com may be far greater. The company?s ?gures, along with real world experience,
demonstrate the extreme dif?culty of excising a particularly egregious crime the sexual
exploitation of minors on a site seemingly dedicated to the promotion of prostitution.

On a regional basis, there has been no change in postings for prostitution services on
Backpage.com. For example, between July 28 and August 1, the Missouri Attorney General?s
Of?ce on behalf of the Attorneys General Working Group conducted a review of adult content
on Backpage.com. This review revealed numerous daily postings for ?escort? services in the
Adult>Escorts section. On Sunday, July 31, in the St. Louis-area alone, there were one hundred
and three (103) new postings for such services. Other regional examples include:

On August I, the Washington State Attorney General?s Of?ce found one hundred and
forty two (142) advertisements that are obviously for prostitutes in the Seattle area; and

On August 2, even the Connecticut State Attorney General?s Of?ce found advertisements
for prostitutes in the Connecticut area on the Spring?eld, Massachusetts and Rhode
Island pages, circumventing Backpage.com?s omission of a Connecticut adult section.

Missouri investigators further con?rmed that Backpage.com?s review procedures are
ineffective in policing illegal activity. On July 28 and July 29, investigators ?agged twenty ?ve
(25) new postings advertising prostitution in the St. Louis, Kansas City, Spring?eld, Columbia,
and Jefferson City areas. By August 1, at least four days later, only ?ve of these postings, or less
than a quarter, had been removed.

The prominence of illegal content on Backpage.com con?icts with the company?s
representations about its content policies. Backpage.com claims that it ?is committed to
preventing those who are intent on misusing the site for illegal purposes.?I To that end,
Backpage.com represents that it has ?implemented strict content policies to prevent illegal
activity,? and that the company has ?inappropriate ad content removed.?2 Backpage.com also
requires those who post ?adult services? advertisements to click a link indicating they agree not
to ?post any solicitation directly or in ?coded? fashion for any illegal service exchanging sexual
favors for money or other valuable consideration.?3 However, a cursory look at a relevant
section demonstrates that this guideline is not enforced.4

In fact, in a meeting with the Washington State Attorney General?s Office, Village Voice
Media Board Member Don Moon readily admitted that prostitution advertisements regularly
appear on Backpage.com. This shows that the stated representations about the site are in direct

 

1 Backpage.com, Safety and Security Enhancements, (last visited August 05, 2011).

2 1d.

3 See Backpage.com, Posting Rules,

http://posting. tion?38 1&categ
(last visited August 05, 2011)..

4See Backpage.com, Seattle Escorts, (last visited August 05, 2011).

11

con?ict with the reality of Backpage?s business model: making money from a service illegal in
every state, but for a few counties in Nevada.

Based on an independent assessment by the AIM Group, Backpage. com? estimated
annual revenue from its adult services section is approximately $22. 7 million. This ?gure, along
with information you provided to the Working Group, indicates that Backpage. com devotes only
a fraction of the revenue generated from its adult section advertisements to manual content
review. We believe Backpage.com sets a minimal bar for content review in an effort to temper
public condemnation, while ensuring that the revenue spigot provided by prostitution advertising
remains intact. Though you have stated ?all new ads are moderated by a staff member,?5 there
appear to be no changes in the volume of prostitution advertisements resulting ?om this
?moderation.?

As a practical matter, it is likely very dif?cult to accurately detect underage human
traf?cking on Backpage.com?s adult services section, when to an outside observer, the website?s
sole purpose seems to be to advertise prostitution. That is why Craigslist?s decision to shut down
its adult services section was applauded as a clear way for it to eradicate advertising on its
website that traf?cked children for prostitution. It is also why we have called on Backpage.com
to take similar action.

Furthermore, in lieu of a subpoena, the Working Group asks that Backpage.com provide
additional information so that we may better understand the company?s policies and practices. As
noted earlier, Backpage. com represents that it has ?strict content policies to prevent illegal
activity.? 6W6 ask that Backpage. com substantiate this claim by:

1. Describing in detail Backpage.com?s understanding of what precisely constitutes ?illegal
activity,? including whether Backpage.com contends that advertisements for prostitution
services do not constitute advertisements for ?illegal activity;?

2. Providing a copy of such policies, including but not limited to the speci?c criteria used to

determine whether an advertisement may involve illegal activity;

Providing the list of the prohibited terms for which Backpage.com is screening;

4. Describing in detail the individualized or hand review process undertaken by
Backpage.com, including the number of personnel currently assigned to conduct such
review;

5. Stating the number of advertisements in its adult section, including all subsections,
submitted since September 1, 2010;

6. Stating the number of advertisements, in its adult section, including all subsections,
submitted since September 1, 2010, which were subjected to individualized or hand
review prior to publication; and

7. Stating the number of advertisements in its adult section, including all subsections,
submitted since September 1, 2010, rejected prior to publication because they involved or
were suspected to involve illegal activity.

U.)

 

5Letter from Samuel Fifer, Attorney, SNR Denton, to Attorneys General Working Group (Jan. 27, 2011).
5 Backpage. com supra note 1.

12

Backpage.com?s ?irther represents that it has ?inappropriate ad content removed?? We

ask that Backpage.com substantiate this claim by:

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

l3.

14.

15.

safety advocates/experts.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Describing the criteria used to determine whether a published advertisement should be
removed due to actual or suspected illegal activity;

Providing a copy of such policies that detail the criteria used to determine whether a
published advertisement should be removed due to actual or suspected illegal activity;
Describing in detail the criteria Backpage.com uses, including but not limited to the
number of user reports required, before a published advertisement is subjected to ?thher
review;

Providing a copy of such policies that detail the criteria Backpage.com uses, including
but not limited to the number of user reports required, before a published advertisement is
subjected to ?rrther review;

Stating the number of published advertisements posted since September 1, 2010 in its
adult section, including all subsections, that Backpage.com has subjected to post
publication review;

Stating the number of published advertisements posted since September 1, 2010 in its
adult section, including all subsections, that Backpage.com removed following post
publication review;

Stating the number of published advertisements posted since September 1, 2010 in its
adult section, including all subsections, that Backpage.com did not remove following
post publication review;

Stating the number of published advertisements posted since September 1, 2010 that were
not subjected to ?irther review by Backpage.com despite the receipt of user reports.

 

Lastly, Backpage.com also represents that it is ?partnering with law enforcement and
?8 We request that Backpage.com support this assertion by:

Identifying the specific ?law enforcement [agencies] and safety advocates/experts? with
whom Backpage.com has partnered and describing the actions taken by Backpage.com in
connection with such partnerships;

Stating the number of advertisements submitted since September 1, 2010 that
Backpage.com has reported pre-publication to local, state or federal law enforcement
agencies, or to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children?s Cyber Tipline,
because of actual or suspected illegal activity;

Stating the number of user reports of suspected exploitation of minors and/or human
trafficking Backpage.com requires before subjecting a published advertisement to ?irther
review;

Stating the number of published advertisements posted since September 1, 2010 that
Backpage.com removed in response to such user reports;

Stating the number of published advertisements posted since September 1, 2010 that
Backpage.com reported to local, state or federal law enforcement agencies, or to the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children?s Cyber Tipline, as a result of such
reports; and

 

7 Backpage.com, supra note 1.
8 Backpage.com, supra note I.

13

21. Stating the number of published advertisements posted since September 1, 2010 that
Backpagecom did not remove following a review prompted by user reports.

 

The National Association of Attorneys General requests Backpage.com?s response on or

before September 14, 2011.

Respect?illy,

George epsen
Attorney eneral of Connecticut

  

  
  
  

Dustin McDaniel
AttorneyGeneral

olorado Attorney General

(hunch)
am Bondi

Florida Attorney General


Lenny apad 

Guam Attorney General

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Lawrence Wasden
Idaho Attorney General

@251?-

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Attorney General of Missouri
Luther Strange 
Alabama Attorney General

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Arizona Attorney General


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Indiana Attorney General

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Derek Schmidt
Kan

     

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Louisiana Anon? Maine ttomey General
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Gansler Ma aCoakley

       

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Maryland Attorney General Massachusetts Attorney General
Bill Schuette Lori Swanson

eral Minnesota Attorney General

   
 

Michigan tgey Gen
Hood teve Bullock
. sissippi General MontanWr

Michael Delaney

Attorney 

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North Carolina Attorney eneral


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Mike Dewine
ohn Kroger
Oklahoma Attorney Gener Ore 5 Attorney General
Linda L. Kelly Peter-Kama 'in' 1
Attorney General Rhode Island Attorney General

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Alan Wilson
South Carolina Attorney General

Robert E. EgooperK

ark Shurt
Utah Attorney General

Greg Ph lips
Wyoming Attorney General

   
 
   

Marty Ja 16 

Sout akota Attorney General

 
   

Greg
Te a ttor yJGeneral
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enneth T. Cuccinelli, 11
Virginia Attorney General

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