An Internet company was the leading place for child sex slavery businesses to sell their victims. So why has “Don’t Be Evil” Google come to the defense of Backpage.com?

This is Nacole S. Her daughter was picked up by a child sex slavery ring, which sold her around on the Internet. The preferred site by these traffickers was Backpage.com.

Backpage.com was allegedly making good money on this stuff, and even though they had no direct role in the sex slavery business, it’s argued that they should have done something to stop their business from being in the business of promoting this sort of activity. So, they’re being sued.

Backpage is arguing that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects them from these suits. That may actually be true, it’s a complicated issue, and I think it’s a fine line between holding Backpage responsible for sex slavery by its users, and holding them responsible for being grossly or even willfully negligent, in order to make more profit.

Google has jumped to the defense of Backpage, bankrolling efforts to defend them. Why would they do this? Because they’re in the same boat. They’ve turned a blind eye to scams, drugs, copyright infringement, and who knows what else, in their various businesses including their lucrative ad and Youtube efforts.

Google is afraid that they’ll next have to be held responsible for what they’ve willfully ignored, if Backpage falls first. So they’re defending Backpage’s blindness to child sex trafficking, in order to protect their own profits.

No matter what your view of CDA Section 230, there’s something shady about that. Don’t be Evil, indeed.