An image of the current home page of the website backpage.com shows logos of U.S. law enforcement agencies after they seized the sex marketplace site April 6, 2018. backpage.com via REUTERS

Groups and political leaders working to end forced prostitution and child exploitation celebrated the shutdown of Backpage, a massive ad marketplace that is primarily used to sell sex. First there is the fact that almost all prostitution is based on exploiting the weakness and financial needs of a woman who — if she felt she had other options — would not “consent” to — as the British pop band, Tears for Fears, described it in their 1989 hit song Woman in Chains — a “transaction” in which she “sells the only thing she owns.” When a man “rents” a woman to use as a sexual object, the “consent” touted by those who either profit from the sex trade industry or act as consumers of that industry is greatly diminished.
Several U.S. federal authorities led by the FBI seize the personal ad website Backpage in an effort to stop alleged human trafficking, including that of minors. Its co-founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin were also charged with 93 counts of human trafficking.