"Salesforce wins lawsuit appeal after dozens of women accused company of helping pimps and sex traffickers", 22 Jan 2022

A California appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit claiming... Salesforce helped pimps and human traffickers by providing a database and services to a website that featured adult ads.

The suit claimed that a group of 50 plaintiffs, identified as “Jane Does,” were victims of sex trafficking facilitated by website Backpage, including women who were allegedly sold for sex as minors via the site.

Backpage has been shut down by federal authorities, and ex-CEO Carl Ferrer in 2018 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate prostitution; several Backpage-related corporate entities pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering...

The lawsuit against Salesforce was first dismissed in March 2020 in San Francisco County Superior Court, on the basis that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act protects websites from liability for third-party conduct. The recent ruling in the California Court of Appeal’s First Appellate District dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal on the same basis.

Salesforce and [Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce,] did not respond to a request for comment...