Exhibit D 

Case 2:18-cr-00422-DJH Document 331-6 Filed 10/04/18 Page 1 of 13
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

EASTERN DIVISION

BACKPAGE.COM, LLC,

Plaintiff,

v. 

THOMAS J. DART, Sheriff of Cook County, 

Illinois, 

Defendants.

No. 1:15-cv-06340

Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. 

Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim 

DECLARATION OF CARL FERRER 

IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR 

TEMPORARY RESTRAINING 

ORDER

I, Carl Ferrer, declare:

1. I am the Chief Executive Officer of Backpage.com, LLC (“Backpage.com”). I 

have personal knowledge of the matters set forth in this declaration and am competent to testify 

to them.

2. Backpage.com operates an online classified advertising service, located at 

www.backpage.com. Backpage.com began operations in 2004. The website is available in all 

fifty states and the District of Columbia, and is organized geographically by states and 

municipalities. For example, in Illinois, Backpage.com is available to users throughout the state 

and they may post and view ads specific to Bloomington/Normal, Carbondale, Chambana, 

Chicago, Decatur, La Salle County, Mattoon-Charleston, Peoria, Rockford, Southern Illinois, 

Springfield, and Western Illinois. 

3. Users post more than six million ads on Backpage.com every month. They may 

post and review ads in numerous categories, including local places, community, buy/sell/trade, 

automotive, musician, rentals, real estate, jobs, dating, adult, and services (and various 

subcategories within these categories). Backpage.com is the second largest online classified 

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advertising service in the United States, after Craigslist. A true and correct copy of the home 

page for the Backpage.com website for Illinois is attached hereto as EXHIBIT A and is 

available at http://illinois.backpage.com.

4. Backpage.com does not dictate or require users to post any content. Instead, users 

provide all the content for ads they post using an automated interface.

5. Until July 6, 2015, Backpage.com allowed users to post individual ads without 

charge in many categories, but it did charge for certain ads and services. For example, 

Backpage.com charged a range of approximately $5-$17 for users to post ads in the adult 

category and $1 for users to post ads in the dating category, payable by major credit cards. Law 

enforcement officials, including Sheriff Dart, have requested ads in these categories be paid by 

credit card because credit cards provide identifying data authorities can use to track and 

prosecute individuals if they engage in illegal activities. Until July 6, 2015, users could also pay 

to post ads (of all types) nationally or in multiple markets, and for more prominent or repeat-ad 

placement, and, again, in almost all instances, users paid these charges by credit cards.

6. From 2004 until 2015, American Express, Visa, and MasterCard allowed their 

cards to be used on Backpage.com.

7. Backpage.com goes to great lengths to prevent misuse of its site or illegal content, 

especially to guard against any human trafficking or child exploitation. As described in the 

following paragraphs, we take numerous steps to prevent any such abuse and misuse of the 

website.

8. Our Terms of Use prohibit ads for illegal services or posting “any material... that 

exploits minors in any way.” The Terms of Use state in part:

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User Conduct:

Without limitation, you agree to refrain from the following actions while using 

the Site: . . .

2. Transmitting any information, data, text, files, links, software, chats, 

communication or other materials that is unlawful, false, misleading, harmful, 

threatening, abusive, invasive of another’s privacy, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, 

obscene, hateful or racially or otherwise objectionable, including without 

limitation material of any kind or nature that encourages conduct that could 

constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any 

applicable local, state, provincial, national, or international law or regulation, or 

encourage the use of controlled substances;...

4. (a) Posting adult content or explicit adult material unless: (i) such material is 

specifically permitted in designated adult categories and permitted under 

applicable federal, state, and local law; and (ii) you are at least 18 years of age or 

older and not considered to be a minor in your state of residence;

(b) Posting, anywhere on the Site, obscene or lewd and lascivious graphics or 

photographs which depict genitalia or actual or simulated sexual acts, as 

determined in the sole discretion of backpage.com;

(c) Posting any solicitation directly or in “coded” fashion for any illegal service 

exchanging sexual favors for money or other valuable consideration;

(d) Posting any material on the Site that exploits minors in any way;

(e) Posting any material on the Site that in any way constitutes or assists in human 

trafficking.

5. Posting any ad for products or services, use or sale of which is prohibited by 

any law or regulation;

A true and correct copy of the complete Terms of Use is attached hereto as EXHIBIT B and is 

available at http://chicago.backpage.com/online/TermsOfUse.

9. Users seeking access to the adult or dating categories must first affirm they are at 

least 18 years old. If a user clicks on either category, a page appears explaining and requiring 

this age verification. A true and correct copy of this verification page is attached hereto as 

EXHIBIT C, and is available at http://chicago.backpage.com/FemaleEscorts/ classifieds/

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Disclaimer?category=4443. This page also cautions users to report any posting that may relate 

to suspected exploitation of minors or human trafficking and contains a link to websites of the 

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) and the National Human 

Trafficking Resource Center. Attached as EXHIBIT D is a true and correct copy of the page –

entitled Stop Trafficking – that appears through this link, and is available at 

http://chicago.backpage.com/en-us/online/classifieds/PopUp?page=StopTrafficking. 

10. In addition, before posting in the adult or dating categories on Backpage.com, 

users must review and agree to specific Posting Rules, which emphasize that ads for commercial 

sex acts are prohibited; that all forms of human trafficking and exploitation are prohibited and 

will not be tolerated; and that any potential child exploitation will be reported for law 

enforcement investigation. The Posting Rules state:

Posting Rules

You agree to the following when posting in this category:

• I will not post obscene or lewd and lascivious graphics or photographs 

which depict genitalia, actual or simulated sexual acts or naked images;

• I will not post any solicitation directly or in “coded” fashion for any illegal 

service, including exchanging sexual favors for money or other valuable 

consideration;

• I will not post any material on the Site that exploits minors in any way;

• I will not post any material on the Site that in any way constitutes or 

assists in human trafficking;

• I am at least 18 years of age or older and not considered to be a minor in 

my state of residence.

Any post exploiting a minor in any way will be subject to criminal 

prosecution and will be reported to the Cybertipline for law enforcement.

Postings violating these rules and our Terms of Use are subject to removal 

without refund.

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A true and correct copy of these Posting Rules is attached hereto as EXHIBIT E, and they are

available at 

http://posting.chicago.backpage.com/online/classifieds/PostAdPPI.html/chi/chicago.backpage.co

m/?u=chi&serverName=chicago.backpage.com&superRegion=Chicago§ion=4383&categor

y=4454. 

11. Every ad on the website contains a “Report Ad” link for users to report if they 

believe the ad may be improper. These links lead to a page that asks users to identify any 

suspected inappropriate ads, emphasizing that if the user’s concern is about a possible threat to a 

child, he or she should also contact abuse@backpage.com. Attached as EXHIBIT F is a true 

and correct copy of this page, which is also available at 

http://posting.chicago.backpage.com/online/classifieds/ReportAd?oid=28426274. 

Backpage.com reviews ads that are flagged by users to determine whether they should be 

removed or reported to appropriate authorities.

12. Backpage.com prominently features an ad from Children of the Night, a national 

support and rescue organization. It states: 

Want Out? National Free Help 24/7: 1-800-551-1300

Tired of Turning Tricks?

Pimps Don’t Care. 

We Do! 

Call from Anywhere - Day or Night

Boys, Girls, Transgender

Help, Shelter Home (ages 11-17) and Transportation available.

“Children of the Night”

1-800-551-1300 x 0

http://www.childrenofthenight.org/index.html

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Attached as EXHIBIT G is a true and correct copy of this ad, which is available at 

http://chicago.backpage.com/FemaleEscorts/want-out-national-free-help-247-1-800-551-

1300/14518504. 

13. Links are also provided at many places on the site to NCMEC’s Cybertipline and 

a User Safety page addressing the issue of human trafficking. The User Safety page states: 

Human Trafficking

Over the past 15 years, “trafficking in persons” and “human trafficking” have 

been used as umbrella terms for activities involved when someone obtains or 

holds a person in compelled service.

The United States government considers trafficking in persons to include all of 

the criminal conduct involved in forced labor and sex trafficking, essentially the 

conduct involved in reducing or holding someone in compelled service. Under the 

Trafficking Victims Protection Act as amended (TVPA) and consistent with the 

United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, 

Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol), individuals may be 

trafficking victims regardless of whether they once consented, participated in a 

crime as a direct result of being trafficked, were transported into the exploitative 

situation, or were simply born into a state of servitude. Despite a term that seems 

to connote movement, at the heart of the phenomenon of trafficking in persons are 

the many forms of enslavement, not the activities involved in international 

transportation.

For more information on Human Trafficking, please visit 

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/. 

To report a potential victim of Human Trafficking, or if you are a victim yourself 

or you know someone whom you suspect may be, please call the National Human 

Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline at 1-888-3737-888, or visit: 

http://www.polarisproject.org/what-we-do/national-human-traffickinghotline/report-a-tip. 

Child Exploitation

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children helps not only locate 

missing kids, but also helps children that are victims of sexual exploitation of any 

kind.

If you’ve seen a missing child, or a child that is being victimized, please take 

action and make a report to the CyberTipline: www.cybertipline.com. 

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For more information on the National Center, please visit: www.missingkids.com. 

A true and correct copy of the User Safety page is attached hereto as EXHIBIT H, and is 

available at http://chicago.backpage.com/classifieds/UserSafety.

14. Backpage.com also employs extensive, voluntary monitoring measures to prevent 

and remove improper user postings. Among these measures, we operate an automated filtering 

system that scans potential posts for “red-flag” terms, phrases, URLs and email and IP addresses. 

The list of terms used in this automated filtering currently exceeds 100,000, and it is regularly 

updated. In addition, Backpage.com operates a two-tiered manual (human) review system of 

nearly all content submitted for posting to the adult and dating categories. The first manual 

review assesses ads in the adult and dating categories before they are allowed to appear on the 

site, and the second level examines nearly every such ad after posting, as a double-check for 

potentially improper content. Overall, more than 100 people (over 60% of all Backpage.com 

workers) are engaged in monitoring user submissions.

15. Through its review processes, Backpage.com blocks or removes over a million 

ads per month and immediately reports any that may concern child exploitation to NCMEC 

(approximately 300 per month). 

16. In addition to its prevention efforts, Backpage.com regularly works with local, 

state and federal law enforcement officials in connection with investigations and prosecutions. 

Our staff regularly responds to law enforcement subpoenas, generally within 24 hours. In some 

instances, we have also conducted additional Internet research to provide law enforcement 

further information to assist in rescuing victims and arresting and prosecuting criminals. 

Backpage.com also distributes law enforcement guides, conducts training of law enforcement 

officials, allows posts of public service announcements by law enforcement, and removes and 

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blocks posts when requested by law enforcement. In addition, Backpage.com personnel provide 

testimony at trials and hearings as requested. 

17. Law enforcement officials often commend Backpage.com for its support and 

assistance, and that includes praise from Cook County officials. Some examples of messages we 

have received include:

You guys are fantastic thank you 

Thank you so much, you have really gone above and beyond. I always like 

working with your group because it is professional and prompt.

Thank you very much for your assistance. By the way, as a Detective with the ... 

Police, I deal with numerous hospitals, banks, cell phone companies, etc. You 

guys have been by far the best and easiest to deal with.

As usual your staff at Backpage.com is awesome! Thank you for this additional 

information it helps out tremendously.

Backpage staff. Great job. This will help in the investigation. Thanks for further 

researching and going the extra mile.

Thank you! I appreciate your proactive efforts to protect our children. Again, 

thank you.

Thank you so much. We have been waiting to obtain records from some of these 

sites. ... Thank you very much for your assistance and attention to details. I wish 

more companies were like this.

Backpage is the very best thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Thanks once again for going above and beyond what we ask of you. Your team 

has always been helpful, diligent, and worked with a [sense] of urgency, and it is 

greatly appreciated.

[Y]our staff did a great job! We appreciate Backpage’s vigilance to help protect 

kids. On our team over the weekend were the Secret Service, Department of 

Homeland Security, the United States Attorney’s Office and several local law 

enforcement agencies and all commented on how effective Backpage was on 

getting the ads removed quickly and blocking future ads from the same posters.

I can’t thank you and your staff enough for being so responsive and supportive of 

my and other law enforcement efforts concerning these cases. Your company’s 

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level of cooperation is not the norm and makes a huge difference in our ability to 

target and ultimately arrest the offender. 

Thank you so much! [Cook County]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful and much appreciated! [Cook County]

Thank you. [Winnebago County]

18. On or about January 20, 2011, Backpage.com received a letter from the office of 

Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart. The letter stated that Sheriff Dart’s office had been 

conducting “undercover online investigations” of the website, had determined “the site is being 

openly used as a conduit for illegal prostitution activity,” and insisted that Backpage.com be 

brought “into legal compliance” by “remov[ing] the Personals and Adults sections of [the] 

website. A true and correct copy of this letter is attached hereto as EXHIBIT I. We responded 

to the January 20, 2011 letter, explaining our efforts to prevent misuse of our website and to 

partner with law enforcement officials to track individuals who do misuse the website. 

19. On or about March 2, 2011, Backpage.com received another letter from Sheriff 

Dart’s office. Among other things, the letter asserted that “the only way to ensure the public 

safety would be to shut down the Adults [sic] and Personals sections.” A true and correct copy 

of this letter is attached hereto as EXHIBIT J. We responded, again explaining our extensive 

measures to prevent and stop improper posts on the Backpage.com website. We firmly believe 

that censorship is not the solution to human trafficking or child exploitation, but rather that law 

enforcement and other authorities should work with websites like Backpage.com to prevent, 

investigate, and prosecute criminal activity and to rescue victims. 

20. On or about June 14, 2011, Backpage.com received another letter from Sheriff 

Dart’s office. The letter proposed six “security measures,” including that Backpage.com require 

charges for adult ads paid by credit cards and provide identifying information from credit card 

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usage in response to valid law enforcement requests. As we have explained to the Sheriff’s 

office, Backpage.com has done these things for many years. A true and correct copy of this 

letter is attached as EXHIBIT K.

21. On June 27, 2011, I and other representatives of Backpage.com met with 

representatives from Sheriff Dart’s office. We again explained our screening procedures, our 

cooperation with law enforcement, and that we did require payment by credit or debit cards and 

routinely provided such information in response to law enforcement requests. On July 5, 2011, a 

spokesperson for Sheriff Dart’s office who had attended the meeting sent an email to one of our

representatives stating: “I really want to say thanks for the great meeting last week. We all 

came away impressed not only with the work done so far by Carl, but also with his candor and 

sincerity, not to mention his interest in doing more work to secure the website. Hoping it leads 

to more productive conversations down the road.”

22. On or about January 31, 2012, Backpage.com received a letter from Sheriff Dart’s 

office, once again demanding that Backpage.com remove its adult category. The letter stated:

“Pursuant to 720 ILCS 5/10-9, please ensure that... Backpage.com... immediately ceases and 

desists its current practice.” The letter also threatened that if Backpage.com “fails to comply 

with this request, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office is prepared to seek all available legal 

recourse.” A true and correct copy of this letter is attached hereto as EXHIBIT L.

23. On or about January 24, 2014, Backpage.com received another letter from Sheriff 

Dart’s office, asking that Backpage.com “respond to the enclosed Request for Information and 

Site Modification ... within 28 days of receipt of the document.” The twelve-page list contained 

a total of more than 150 requests. It also demanded that Backpage.com “[r]equire user[s] to pay 

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fees with major credit card.” A true and correct copy of this letter is attached hereto as 

EXHIBIT M.

24. On April 30, 2015, American Express informed Backpage.com it would no longer 

allow its cards to be used for any purchases in the adult category of the website. American 

Express did not provide a reason for this decision. On July 1 and 2, 2015, Backpage.com 

received notice from its acquiring banks and credit card processors (companies that help 

facilitate credit card payments) that they could no longer process Visa and MasterCard 

transactions and were terminating their agreements with Backpage.com effective immediately. 

25. One of our processors also forwarded a message it received from Visa which 

stated that Visa had “received allegations from US law enforcement that the merchant 

backpage.com is linked to child prostitution and human trafficking,” and had been asked to 

impose an “immediate close down.” The message also alluded to Visa’s rules that merchants

“must not use licensed marks in relation to or for the purchase of brand damaging or illegal 

transactions.”

26. I am informed that MasterCard has listed Backpage.com as a terminated merchant 

on its “Member Alert to Control High Risk” (MATCH) file. The MATCH file is maintained 

jointly by MasterCard and Visa and prevents processing of credit card payments worldwide for 

merchants on the list. Thus, Backpage.com is now barred from credit card services of any of the 

three largest credit card companies or any acquiring banks or credit processing companies. 

27. The practical effect of Sheriff Dart’s and the credit card companies’ actions has 

been to cut off nearly all revenue to Backpage.com. This affects not only adult ads but also other 

ads for dating, housing, services, trades, and sales of goods, among others. Although

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Backpage.com allows payment by bitcoin, this has accounted for a very small percentage of 

purchases on Backpage.com. 

28. Beginning on July 6, 2015, Backpage.com stopped charging for ads. 

Backpage.com began offering users a free promotional code in some areas ("FREESPEECH") to 

allow them to post ads free of charge until Backpage.com could obtain relief for Sheriff Dart's 

actions. It later made posts free without the need for a user to enter a promotional code. 

Backpage.com took this step because disrupting or precluding its ability to provide services to 

users severely harms the website's goodwill and users' rights to post speech on the site. 

Providing services for free can only be a tempormy measure, however. 

29. Sheriff Dart's actions and the termination of credit card services have also harmed 

Backpage.com's effmis to police and preclude improper ads. Imposing charges and requiring 

users to pay by credit cards discourages improper postings and provides information for law 

enforcement. Without such charges, the volume of ads (including spam) dramatically increases 

and Backpage.com necessarily must devote resources and personnel to address these problems, 

detracting from its effmis to police the website. 

I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States that the foregoing is 

true and correct. 

Signed at Dallas, Texas this 21st day of July, 2015. 

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