Washington D.C. – Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02) issued the following statement after BackPage.com abruptly closed the adult escort advertising section on its website.

“I am very pleased to hear that BackPage.com has closed its adult advertisement section. Our society should never tolerate any website that enables human trafficking and child prostitution.”

This long overdue but significant victory is owed not only to the tireless investigative work of victim advocacy groups, law enforcement and state and federal government officials, but also to the survivors who bravely came forward and shared their stories.  BackPage.com’s escort site offered an easy hiding place for traffickers to manipulate and exploit the most vulnerable members of our communities.  I applaud the shuttering of the site as an encouraging step forward in the fight against human trafficking.