U.S. senators to take legal action against Backpage.com

Several U.S. Senators have announced plans to take legal action against a controversial website that refuses to comply with a subpoena.

ABC 17 News first told you about Backpage.com — an online marketplace that allegedly is linked to sex trafficking.

Republican Sen. Rob Portman, of Ohio, and Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, of Missouri, issued a subpoena for documents about the company’s business practices.

“We began this bipartisan investigation over nine months ago to tackle the growing problem of sex trafficking on the Internet. We have given Backpage.com every opportunity to comply with a lawful subpoena, but they have continued to stonewall,” said the senators in a statement. “Backpage.com’s ongoing obstruction of this investigation will not be tolerated. It is vital that Congress learns how human trafficking occurs on the Internet and what can be done to stop it. That’s why we are offering a resolution to pursue contempt against Backpage and compel its cooperation with our subpoena.

The senators plan to introduce a Senate resolution to hold the company in civil contempt.

A Senate committee hearing to address the issues is set to take place at 9 a.m on Wednesday.

You can watch the live stream of the hearing by clicking here.

ABC 17’s Taylor Petras reported in January about sex trafficking in Missouri.

Between 2008 and 2012, more than 100 victims were rescued just in Cole County.

You can watch here report by clicking here.