Backpage Owners' Lawyers Argue for Access to Seized Servers

Backpage Owners' Lawyers Argue for Access to Seized Servers

PHOENIX — Last Friday, a pre-trial hearing was held in a Phoenix federal court regarding the ongoing government lawsuit against former Backpage owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin.

Judge Susan Brnovich, of the U.S. District Court for Arizona, heard arguments from the prosecutors wishing to prevent Lacey and Larkin’s defense from accessing data on Backpage’s servers, seized by the government during much-publicized raids in 2018. The raids coincided with the passage of FOSTA legislation.

Judge Brnovich was unconvinced by the prosecution’s arguments. She did not reject the defense motion to access and examine the servers seized in April 2018 and scheduled an evidentiary hearing for October 3.

These are the servers that the government alleges contain evidence that the Backpage business model was set up to facilitate commercial sex activities against the law, particularly concerning the trafficking of minors.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who launched her national political career on the back of her crusade against the adult classifieds platform, told an interviewer earlier this year that "Backpage was providing advertisement for the sale of children, of minors."

The government was hoping to focus their case on only 50 ads that they claim showed that Lacey and Larkin were actively involved in promoting illegal commercial sex. The defense argued that the voluminous information on the rest of the servers that the government has kept out of their hands since April 2018 contains evidence exonerating their clients.

This information includes what the defense argues is evidence of extensive and long-term cooperation between Backpage and law enforcement, and also with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The case had been returned to the District Court in late July, when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the stay issued by the district court preventing the defense “from litigating the legality of the seizure of Backpage funds,” according to Lacey’s attorney Paul Cambria.

For more of XBIZ’s ongoing coverage of the Backpage case, click here.

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

Trump Administration Issues Executive Order Against 'Debanking'

The White House on Thursday issued an executive order limiting financial institutions’ ability to restrict access to financial services for people or groups involved in lawful industries, a longtime goal of adult industry advocates and stakeholders.

Go.cam Launches Free Age Verification Solution, Anti-Fraud Features

Go.cam has announced that its age verification solution is now free with updated anti-fraud and identity protection features.

Florida AG Sues EU-Based Adult Companies for Failing to Age-Verify Users

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Monday with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida against five EU-based adult companies for allegedly failing to require age verification before allowing access to adult content.

SkyPrivate Launches 'Telegram Pay-Per-Minute' Feature

SkyPrivate has launched a new pay-per-minute (PPM) private show option on Telegram.

Pineapple Support to Host 'Money and Mental Health' Online Event

Pineapple Support is hosting a free, online event to help performers balance financial wellbeing with mental health, Aug. 18-19.

Arcom Warns 5 Adult Sites Over Age Verification

French media regulator Arcom has sent enforcement notices to the operators of five adult websites that the agency says have failed to implement age verification as required under France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

MojoHost Debuts NVIDIA Blackwell-Powered Hosting

MojoHost has announced the launch of NVIDIA Blackwell-powered hosting featuring RTX 6000 Pro MaxQ GPUs.

FSC: Identity Theft Targeting Adult Performers

The Free Speech Coalition has put out an alert warning of an individual found to be targeting adult performers for identity theft.

Assylum.com Implements New Age Verification System

Assylum.com has introduced an age verification system across its member sites.

European Commission to Assess Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX Compliance With Digital Services Act

The European Commission plans to conduct a study to determine how well adult sites Pornhub, XVideos and XNXX are addressing illegal content and other potential harms under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Show More