Fifty women are suing Salesforce in a San Francisco court, alleging the company sold business tools to sex trafficking website Backpage.
The women, referred to only as anonymous Jane Does, identify themselves as survivors of sex trafficking, rape and abuse — facilitated through Backpage. The lawsuit, which was filed Monday and posted by Law360, paints a dark picture of Salesforce, which has long touted human rights and building technology for the greater good.
CEO Marc Benioff has advocated for gender equality in the workplace and better services for the homeless.
The lawsuit, however, claims:
In public, including on Twitter, Salesforce boasted about fighting human trafficking using its data tools. But behind closed doors, Salesforce’s data tools were actually providing the backbone of Backpage’s exponential growth. Salesforce didn’t just provide Backpage with a customer-ready version of its data and marketing tools. Salesforce designed and implemented a heavily customized enterprise database tailored for Backpage’s operations, both locally and internationally. With Salesforce’s guidance, Backpage was able to use Salesforce’s tools to market to new “users” — that is, pimps, johns, and traffickers — on three continents.
A Salesforce spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation, but said, “We are deeply committed to the ethical and humane use of our products and take these allegations seriously.”
Salesforce markets customer acquisition and retention tools for businesses. It’s one of the largest software companies out of San Francisco, with a market valuation above $120 billion.
The lawsuit claims Salesforce built custom tools for Backpage, upselling the now-defunct website on higher priced packages and additional services.
The lawsuit is Jane Does #1 through #50 v. Salesforce Inc., CGC-19-574770, and was filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
