A front-page article or picture is one that appears on the top half of page 1 of a newspaper. It’s the most important news (according to the editor). There are other front pages on each section – the B front, C front and others usually broken out as Local, Sports, Lifestyle, Family or whatever trendy name a publisher likes.
The term front-page also applies to the main page of a website or social media site. It is sometimes called the home page, though in some cases the name of a website’s home page may be more specific, such as Reddit.
In 2014, three Jane Does who were sex trafficked as minors sued Backpage in federal court, alleging that their traffickers used the website to post ads selling them for sex. They alleged that Backpage substantially contributed to the content of those ads, and that therefore it was not shielded from liability under CDA Section 230.
The court rejected this argument, and ruled that Backpage had not substantially contributed to the content of the ads, and therefore it was shielded from liability under Section 230. However, it did allow the case to proceed against Backpage for violating state consumer protection laws.
In August 2013, New Jersey passed a law to attempt to legislate Backpage out of existence, modeled on similar laws in Washington state and Tennessee. This too was struck down by the court, which ruled that the statute was preempted by CDA Section 230 and violated the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause.
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