In 2001 a custody battle over twin baby girls made headlines in two countries and placed a spotlight on the role of the Internet in adoption proceedings. Tina Johnson, who ran an adoption website out of her California home, helped to place the twins into the home of a California couple, who paid a fee of six thousand dollars. After caring for the children for two months, the couple received a request from the birth mother for a final farewell visit. However, once the birth mother had the girls in her possession, she handed the children over to a British couple without notifying the girls’ new California parents. The British couple then drove the twins to Arkansas, adopted them under that state’s laws, and flew back to Great Britain. The British couple paid Johnson twelve...