For most of its existence, Backpage.com was mired in legal and political controversy. The website, which hosted online classified ads much like Craigslist, was accused of facilitating child sex trafficking, and was targeted by state attorneys general who said Backpage “exploited women and children.”
Founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin were hauled in front of the U.S. Senate where an official report claimed they “knowingly facilitated the criminal sex trafficking of vulnerable women and young…
