Backpage.com Wins Injunction Over Credit Card 'Pressure Tactics'

Backpage.com Wins Injunction Over Credit Card 'Pressure Tactics'

CHICAGO — A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Cook County’s sheriff violated the First Amendment rights of Backpage.com by pressuring Visa and Mastercard to stop processing ad sales on the site.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in its decision to grant an injunction, said that Sheriff Thomas Dart’s claims that Backpage’s adult section is promoting illegal sex-related products or services didn’t justify his “pressure tactics” designed to shut it down.

Dart’s letters to the credit card companies alleged Backpage “promote[s] prostitution and facilitate online sex trafficking,” but he didn’t explicitly threaten legal action against them.

But just two days after the letters were received, both Visa and MasterCard announced they would no longer process transactions for Backpage customers.

“Visa and MasterCard bowed to pressure from Sheriff Dart and others by refusing to process transactions in which their credit cards are used to purchase any ads on Backpage, even those that advertise indisputably legal activities,” the 7th Circuit said.

In Monday’s ruling that reversed a district judge’s earlier ruling, the 7th Circuit ordered Dart to “take no actions … to coerce or threaten credit card companies, processors, financial institutions, or other third parties with sanctions intended to ban credit card or other financial services from being provided to Backpage.com.”

The 7th Circuit’s ruling extended a preliminary injunction against the sheriff granted two weeks ago by the same court.

Industry attorney Robert Corn-Revere, who represented Backpage, welcomed Monday’s decision.

“The 7th Circuit ruling reaffirms the bedrock First Amendment principle that the government cannot simply presume speech it dislikes is illegal; nor can it take unilateral action to restrict speech whether it uses formal or informal means,” Corn-Revere told XBIZ. “It means no matter how sanctimonious Sheriff Dart may get, he is not immune from the rule of law.”

View Monday's ruling

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

New Membership Site 'Sluts Corner' Launches

R18 Entertainment has launched a new membership site, SlutsCorner.com.

Show More