WASHINGTON, D.C. – After months of pressing to hold the website Backpage.com accountable for its role in enabling online sex trafficking of men, women, and children, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today joined the U.S. Senate in a unanimous vote to launch civil contempt proceedings against website Backpage.com.

The vote occurred because Backpage.com refused to comply with U.S. Senate Subcommittee-issued subpoenas as part of a bipartisan investigation into online sex trafficking. This is the first time in more than 20 years the Senate has held anyone in contempt of Congress.

The historic Senate vote follows Heitkamp’s and the Subcommittee’s efforts to take Backpage.com and its CEO Carl Ferrer to task for repeated refusals to comply with subpoenas and investigative efforts on the part of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, on which Heitkamp sits. The Subcommittee is investigating the impacts of websites like Backpage.com in contributing to human trafficking. Just last month, Heitkamp voted unanimously with the Committee to launch civil contempt proceedings against Backpage.com, which prompted today’s vote in the Senate.

In November, Heitkamp blasted Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer for his refusal to testify on his company’s purported use of safeguards to prevent human traffickers from using the site as a platform. Because of the rampant use of Backpage.com by perpetrators of human trafficking looking to buy or sell victims, many of whom are minors, law enforcement in North Dakota has used the site to find and arrest those committing such crimes – and to identify and rescue potential victims.

“Backpage.com has enabled human trafficking to hide in the shadows, and for months I’ve worked to hold the website and its CEO accountable for profiting off of and promoting sex trafficking. Today the U.S. Senate joined together to hold Backpage.com accountable for repeatedly refusing to comply with my Subcommittee’s investigation to prevent human trafficking online – the first time in over 20 years the Senate has held anyone in contempt of Congress. This is a significant step in addressing and eventually halting one of traffickers’ – and their buyers’ – most effective mediums for engaging in the sale of human beings for sex – instances which have occurred across North Dakota, including the case of a 14-year-old who was trafficked in Minot.”

Long an advocate against human trafficking, Heitkamp led an initial hearing in September 2013 to sound the alarm on the prevalence of human trafficking right in our own backyard, including in North Dakota. Since then, Heitkamp has continued to look at how the federal government can provide better protections for victims, including by holding discussions about liability in civil and criminal cases for companies like Backpage.com, which provide platforms for the trafficking of men, women and children.

Over the past year and a half, Heitkamp has also teamed up with U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to hold multiple trainings for North Dakotans, statewide women leaders, and law enforcement and victims service providers on how to identify, report, and investigate incidents of human trafficking.

Background:

Heitkamp has been leading the charge to combat human trafficking in North Dakota and across the nation by:

For the past several years, Heitkamp has been leading the charge to combat human trafficking in North Dakota and across the nation by:

• Raising awareness in the U.S. Senate about human trafficking early on. In September 2013, Heitkamp led a Senate hearing on efforts underway at the federal, state, and local levels to combat human trafficking, including in Indian Country. Before this hearing, there had been little discussion in Congress on efforts to tackle human trafficking.
  
  
• Passing strong bipartisan legislation to fight against human trafficking. Heitkamp helped introduce, and played an integral role in passing in the Senate’s bipartisan legislation which the President signed into law in May. The final bill provides greater assistance to victims of human trafficking, increased resources to law enforcement and victims’ services organizations, and secures greater punishments for perpetrators of these horrific crimes. The package also contains provisions Heitkamp fought for and won – including stricter punishments against traffickers who transport victims across state lines, and legal protections from her Safe Harbor bill with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to make sure victims are not treated as criminals.

• Working on bipartisan solutions to engage health care providers. Last spring, Heitkamp and Collins introduced bipartisan legislation to give health care providers – including doctors, nurses, and social workers – training to help identify and protect victims of human trafficking. Recent studies suggest that nearly one-third of women trafficked in America saw a health care professional while they were still captive to these crimes.
  
  
• Advocating for protections for young people at risk. Heitkamp has been a strong advocate and cosponsor of a bipartisan bill which would help protect runaway and homeless youth, some of the most susceptible targets of human traffickers. She is continuing to push the Senate to pass the bill. In July, Heitkamp successfully secured landmark anti-human trafficking protections for children in schools in the No Child Left Behind reform legislation.
  
  
• Addressing human trafficking as a community issue. In September 2014, Heitkamp launched her Strong & Safe Communities Initiative to address emerging challenges throughout North Dakota in the wake of the state’s energy boom, including human and sex trafficking. Last summer, Heitkamp brought international anti-human trafficking leader Cindy McCain to Bismarck for a Strong & Safe Communities roundtable on the challenges and next steps in North Dakota’s fight against human trafficking.
  
  
• Engaging and uniting North Dakotans in the fight against trafficking: In October, Heitkamp brought DHS Blue Campaign Chair Maria Odom – a program within DHS whose agency dedicated solely to eradicating fighting human trafficking across the country – across North Dakota to work with advocates, and law enforcement, and tribal officials to develop potential areas of partnerships to help the state fight these crimes.

 ###