Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: G.G. v. Salesforce.com, Inc.

Case No.: 22-2621

Officials: Hamilton, Kirsch, and Pryor, Circuit Judges

Focus: Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act

G.G., who ran away from home at the age of 13 and fell into the hands of a sex trafficker. The trafficker utilized the now-defunct Backpage.com to advertise her services. Seeking justice, G.G. decided to take legal action under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, specifically 18 U.S.C. 1595. This law allows sex trafficking victims to pursue damages not only from their traffickers but also from any individual or entity that knowingly benefited from participating in a venture involving sex trafficking, or should have known about it.

In her lawsuit, G.G. contends that Salesforce, a company that had a close business relationship with Backpage, should have been aware of Backpage.com’s involvement in sex trafficking minors. Salesforce provided advice and custom-tailored software to Backpage and is alleged to have knowingly benefited from the illicit activities on the platform.

The case was initially dismissed, but the Seventh Circuit reverses. They reject various arguments opposing the civil remedy under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. These arguments included the claim that a “venture” must primarily involve sex trafficking, that participants must have constructive knowledge of the specific victim, that “participation in a venture” necessitates direct involvement in a “common undertaking or enterprise involving risk and potential profit,” and that knowingly benefiting requires the sex trafficker to provide a direct benefit to the participant due to their facilitation of sex trafficking and the participant’s knowledge of this reason for the benefit. The court found these theories to impose undue restrictions on the civil remedy, as they did not align with the language of the statute.

Reversed and remanded

Decided 08/03/23

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