The Justice Department has extended its deadline to March 31 for sex trafficking victims advertised on the websites Backpage or CityXGuide.
“Survivors trafficked on Backpage or CityXGuide may be eligible for financial compensation,” the FBI tweeted.
“The process can feel overwhelming, but free legal help is available at backpageremission.com.”
In July 2025, the Department of Justice announced that it launched a remission process to “compensate victims whose trafficking was facilitated through the Backpage.com website,” marking the largest remission process for human trafficking victims to date.
The website was seized and shut down by the FBI on April 6, 2018 — after 15 years in operation. The website was created as a competitior to Craigslist, acting as a classified advertising website which included a section for “Adult Services.”
The FBI described Backpage as the “internet’s leading source of prostitution-related advertisements.”
“Backpage.com facilitated the exploitation of women and children as one of the largest online advertisers for commercial sex and sex trafficking over its 14-year existence,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said.
“Backpage and its executives made millions off the trafficking of victims,” Galeotti continued. “Today’s announcement underscores the Department’s unwavering commitment to use forfeiture to take the profit out of crime and to compensate victims.”
Victims trafficked on CityXGuide between April 8 2018 to July 19, 2020 are also eligible for compensation from the Justice Department.
Compensation for the victims is being funded by over $200 million in assets tied to Backpage’s profits. The Justice Department forfeited these assets in December 2024. Epiq Global Inc. was slated for the Justice Department to serve as the Remission Administrator.
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Victims, theory representatives, or estates of deceased victims can file a petition online here.
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