The front page of a newspaper usually contains the biggest news stories of the day. It can also tease other interesting stories inside the edition. It can also give us clues about the attitudes of the paper towards news; for example, a tabloid might place more emphasis on celebrity gossip, while a serious national newspaper might put more emphasis on national and international politics. A website can have a front-page too, which is the first page that a visitor sees when they enter the site.
Three Jane Does who had been sex trafficked as minors sued Backpage in 2014, claiming that their traffickers used the site to post ads selling them for sex. They accused Backpage of facilitating sex trafficking due to its business and editorial practices, and the design of the site itself. The district court ruled against them, but on appeal the First Circuit sided with them. It found that Backpage had performed “traditional publisher functions” with respect to third-party content, and was therefore shielded by CDA Section 230.
This was the third time a federal judge had struck down state laws trying to legislate Backpage out of existence. A fourth law, passed in New Jersey in 2017, was also enjoined because it violated the First and Fifth Amendments as well as CDA Section 230.