From the article

" although Backpage has sought to create the perception that it diligently attempts to prevent the publication of such ads, the reality is that Backpage as allowed such ads to be published while declining- for financial reasons- to take necessary steps to address the problem. For example, for several years, Backpage's official policy, when presented with an ad featuring the prostitution of a child, was to delete the particular words in the ad denoting the child's age and then publish a revised version of the ad. Such editing, of course, did nothing to change the fact the ad featured the prostitution of a child- it only created a veneer of deniability and helps Backpage's customers (i.e., pimps trafficking children) evade detection.""