Website asks Supreme Court to block subpoena over sex ads

The classified advertising website Backpage.com is urging the Supreme Court to block a congressional subpoena that seeks information on how the company screens ads for possible sex trafficking.


Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer told the high court on Tuesday that the website's system for reviewing ads is part of an editorial process that is protected under the First Amendment.

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the website must respond to the subpoena within 10 days.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations had sought a court order requiring Backpage to produce certain documents as part of its investigation. A lower court also sided with the Senate last month.

The Senate voted in March to hold the website in contempt, the first time in 20 years it has done so.

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