Former Deputy Claims Harris Helped Close Backpage, Fallout Affects Sex Workers

In the midst of the 2024 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris finds herself under the microscope for her involvement in the closure of Backpage.com, a well-known online platform for adult services, during her time as the Attorney General of California.

What Happened: Harris took a strong stance against the founders of Backpage.com in 2016, leading to the first-ever criminal charges against the website.

This case, which never saw the inside of a courtroom, triggered a nationwide crackdown on the site and is currently a significant aspect of Harris’ hardline crime narrative in her presidential bid.

However, detractors argue that Harris’ strategy was excessively punitive. They contend that Backpage.com was primarily a safe haven for sex workers to liaise with adult clients for consensual services. They allege that the site’s closure hindered efforts to probe into cases of underage or forced prostitution.

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Maggy Krell, one of Harris' former deputies in the California attorney general's office said, “Every politician of every party is on the bandwagon to say what they've done to fight human trafficking, right? What's unique about Harris is she started it all. She literally started it all."

"She was the first one out of the foxhole on Backpage," Krell added. "I remember the conversation really well. She was really concerned about the victims."

Just last month, the 76-year-old co-founder of the website was handed a five-year prison sentence on a federal money-laundering charge. He started serving his sentence this week, while his legal team works on an appeal.

So far, the Harris campaign has not provided any comments on her part in the Backpage shutdown or her current stance on the criminalization of prostitution.

Why It Matters: The Backpage.com controversy is a significant part of Harris’ past and could potentially impact her presidential campaign.

Her role in the shutdown of the platform, which was widely used by sex workers, has been criticized as overly punitive and detrimental to efforts to investigate cases of coerced or underage prostitution.

As the presidential race heats up, it remains to be seen how this issue will affect Harris’ campaign and whether her stance on the criminalization of prostitution will evolve.

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This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.