Why the Senate’s Attack on Backpage Will Backfire
NOVANEWS
By Mike Ludwig
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) speaks during a news conference on the opioid crisis, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 19, 2016. Portman joined Sen. Claire McCaskill in leading a senate committee to shut down Backpage.com, a listings site often used by sex workers. (Photo: Zach Gibson / The New York Times)
The businessmen who run the classifieds website Backpage.com received a serious verbal lashing from a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. They were accused of committing a crime that every member of the committee eagerly denounced -- profiting from the sexual exploitation of children. Backpage had already shut down its popular adult services section the day before, citing ongoing acts of "government censorship."
It may be easy for lawmakers of both partie...