In the newspaper business, a front-page article is one that gets top billing. It may tease the stories that are contained in the rest of the edition.
A front page can also refer to a specific story that has become the center of attention in a particular part of the world. For example, a front-page article may report on the arrest of a notorious criminal in another country or an earthquake that has occurred somewhere else.
For instance, in 2014, three anonymous Jane Does who had been sex trafficked as minors sued Backpage over allegations that its adult services ads and editorial practices allowed and encouraged prostitution and facilitated sex trafficking, especially of minors. Ultimately, the court agreed that Backpage performed “traditional publisher functions” with respect to third-party content, and therefore its actions were shielded by CDA Section 230.
In 2013 New Jersey enacted a law aimed at legitimizing Backpage out of existence, but a federal judge enjoined it, finding that the statute was preempted by Section 230 and that it impermissibly chilled protected speech. A similar ruling against a Washington state law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. These rulings effectively struck down state laws seeking to regulate Third-Party Content on the Internet.