The website, which Polaris Project calls "the world's top online brothel," removed the prostitution ads section only hours after a scathing U.S. Senate report concluded that the website was the "largest commercial sex services advertising platform in the United States." The Senate report also noted that "Backpage officials have publicly acknowledged that criminals use the website for sex trafficking, including trafficking of minors."

This has been a very long battle for leaders in the movement to combat sex trafficking, and we are excited to see this amazing breakthrough come to fruition.

[The website] was developed 13 years ago to compete with Craigslist, the nation's largest online classified ad platform. The site offers ads in 600 cities and 90 countries. In 2013, of the nearly $45 million generated annually by prostitution-based online advertising, [it] accounted for 82 percent of the overall revenue, making it the leading publisher of these types of ads.  

Over the years, thousands of people including children, have been exploited for sex by pimps and traffickers via the website's' advertising platform. The Senate report concludes that not only was the site hosting ads for domestic minor sex trafficking victims, but was also actively concealing it. The report alleges Backpage President Carl Ferrer knew his company tasked employees to delete words such as "Lolita," "rape," "Amber Alert," "fresh" and "school girl" from listings. (Photo: Axelle/Public Domain)

Spokespeople for [the site] have tried to spin the story to one of government censorship and a violation of First Amendment rights. However, that argument holds little weight in the face of evidence showing the extreme harm that the site has caused to countless victims. What some fail to realize is that the rights of free speech are not unlimited. When people will be put in a clear and present danger, the government has the right to intervene to limit or stop that kind of speech. The prohibition of child pornography and the censoring of hate speech are but two examples of when the government has exercised the right to intervene when necessary.

Many sex trafficking survivor leaders have come out against Backpage, pointing to the role that it played in aiding their exploitation and abuse.

This battle over online commercial sexual exploitation is far from over, as it is expected that other avenues for advertising will open up. Yet this moment is truly a giant step forward for those fighting for a world without commercial sexual exploitation.

"This is a monumental time in history," says Rebecca Bender, a sex trafficking survivor and CEO of the Rebecca Bender Initiative. "What Backpage has done, by knowingly allowing online ads of children, is not a matter of censorship; it is an organized company using an online avenue to conduct criminal activity and finally that avenue has been brought to the light. Now we must fight, we must call our senators and attorney generals and rally for prosecution. The fight to hold companies accountable is just beginning."

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

West Virginia Student Helps Pass Bill to Teach Intelligent Design: 'This Is a God-Fearing State'

Free Speech Resolution Allows Satanic Temple 'Invocation' Sparking Chaos at a Michigan Board Meeting

Paris Olympics Will Feature a 'Pride House' to 'Celebrate' Homosexual and Gender-Confused Athletes

Video Captures Drag Queen Indoctrinating Kids, Getting Them to Chant... 'Free Palestine'

Who's Funding the Anti-Israel, Pro-Palestine Protests?

More Lawfare: Former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows Indicted for Role in Alternate Electors Case

DEVELOPING: Harvey Weinstein Rape Conviction Overturned By New York Appellate Court

Supreme Court Puts Final Nail in Coffin of Effort to Block Trump from Ballot in Arizona

SCOTUS Begins Hearing Arguments on Presidential Immunity: Is This the Most Important Day for Donald Trump?

Courageous: Worship Leader Sean Feucht Prepares to Confront Anti-Israel Evil, Darkness, and Horror

'Australian Censorship Commissar' Orders X to Globally Remove Video of Islamic Terror Attack on Christian Bishop

New Emails Expose Biden's Connection to Whistleblower Who Got Trump Impeached

Tennessee Passes Bill Letting Teachers Carry Guns at Schools

Transgender Movement Is Losing Its Influence on Social Media to Shut Down Debate

Ohio Attorney General Breaks Down Leftist Legal 'Trick' to Block GOP Efforts to Protect Kids

Nearly 2,000 Minnesota Students, 15 Teachers Walk Out of LGBTQ 'Indoctrination' Lesson

Pro-Life Advocates to Hold Prayer and Worship Service at the United States Supreme Court on the Eve of 'Idaho v. United States' Abortion Case

'Just a Disaster': Biden's Title IX Rule Empowers LGBTQ Movement, Erases Women and Justice

WATCH: Brave School Girl Reveals in Graphic Detail How TRANS Student Savagely Assaulted Her Friend While Blasting Woke School Officials for Letting it Happen

United For Israel March Happening on the Columbia University Campus, April 25th