Craigslist Blocks Access to ‘Adult Services’ Pages

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: NYT

Craigslist, the popular classifieds Web site, has blocked access to its “adult services” section and replaced the link with a black label with the word “censored.”

The action follows a wave of criticism by law-enforcement officials and groups that oppose human trafficking, who have said that the adult section of Craigslist was a hub for prostitution and trafficking of women against their will.

Last month the attorneys general from 17 states sent a letter to Craigslist’s chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, and its founder, Craig Newmark, asking the company to immediately remove the adult services section.

“Your much-touted ‘manual review’ of Adult Services ads has failed to yield any discernible reduction in obvious solicitations,” the letter said.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/technology/internet/05craigs.html?src=busln

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Prostitution should be legal

[msongs]

1. "craig" doesn't want to spend any of his own money defending himself lol nt

[Chakab]

3. Craig Newmark doesn't have that much money.

He doesn't even own a stake in the company. He just works in customer service. The guy could have been a billionaire. Instead, he only made a pittance while killing the newspaper business in this country.

[ixion]

10. Uh, craigslist isn't killing the newspaper business

they're handling that all on their own.

[Withywindle]

40. I used to (keyword: used to) work in the newspaper business

And yeah, Craigslist wasn't the only factor but it was a big one. Most newspapers used to make most of their money from classified ads. Mine certainly did.

[EFerrari]

44. There's a lot of animosity towards Craig but it's the net, not him.

If he hadn't put up his site, someone else would have.

[cbdo2007]

51. Craig is the majority owner and is on the board.

"It is believed to be owned principally by Newmark, Buckmaster, and eBay (the three board members). eBay owns approximately 25%, and Newmark is believed to own the largest stake."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigslist.org

Their revenues were around $122 million last year.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Craigslist can't say it, so I will..

"Your much-touted investigations and prosecutions have failed to yield any discernible reduction in obvious solicitations."

And human trafficking seems to be increasing without the assistance of Craigslist.

[savalez]

19. What about the prostitution claim?

Do you think there was no evidence that it made selling sex easier too? Craigslist sure makes it easy to buy and sell other products. Surely it must have made prostitution easier too. And it is illegal. Just saying.

[activa8tr]

4. I noticed this today as I was shopping for my next sex slave...LOL

Well, no, I lied... but I did go there after reading this... you are right...

I live close to where a sex worker was murdered last year, and the suspect killed himself in jail last month.

Thousands more unemployed this week due to this.... I wonder if THIS is the reason unemployment went up this week.

Let's legalize prostitution...it works fine in other countries where it's legal.

[Lightning Count]

6. Unless you are actually one of the girls being forced to work in a brother .

Hint: Most of those girls giving massages at the Asian spa don't want to be there .

[Froward69]

13. Yet every Prostitute in Nevada

WANTS to be there.

[Lightning Count]

14. Well adjusted young women with no abuse issues no doubt. nt

[Froward69]

32. I am still on the hunt for just one of those

"Well adjusted young women with no abuse issues." as they are rare.

alas the issue is, "should Prostitution be legal?". yes... as if it were legal "trafficking" in women/children would loose its monetary lure.
possibly just possibly Americas frigid attitude towards sex would loosen as well.

[Lightning Count]

46. Because places where it's legal don't have illegal trafficking?

It is an industry which prays on the insecurities and psychological issues of young women. You can go to any strip club to witness the phenomenon. Girls that take pills and drink just to have the courage to go on stage and participate in the "VIP" activities.

[cleanhippie]

49. Ahh, so there are those that are forced into it....

and those that freely choose to do it, but those that choose to do it are not "Well adjusted young women with no abuse issues"

Do I have that right?

[Anakin Skywalker]

16. What Goes to Nevada, Stays in Nevada? (A play on the "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" slogan

[DissedByBush]

21. Many of the people where I work don't want to be there either

And my industry isn't related to the sex business.

[Skittles]

41. big difference

between feeling fucked because you didn't get a pay raise and feeling fucked because you have to suck cocks to survive

[Occulus]

29. I would HOPE they're not.. um, "working in brothers"

:D

[Lightning Count]

47. Damn iPhone.

:)

[Jamastiene]

37. *sigh* Can't a brother catch a break?

That's gotta be tough on him with his sister working in him like that.

[Lightning Count]

48. Haha.

Gotta love auto spell correct.

[AzNick]

5. Backpage still has these ads

Not that I am a client, I was surprised to see them right there on the front page, and multiple categories, like transsexuals and such.

Personally I am for a legalized and controlled form of prostitution.

This is the oldest profession, so they say...

[boppers]

23. Backpages, Sell.com, Oodle, etc...

Attacking the medium for the message is an exercise in stupidity.

[Kablooie]

26. So that's where they all went.I won't have to become celibate after all.

[boppers]

27. There are entire sites dedicated to prostitution in the US.

Complete with ratings, reviews, discussions about vendors, etc.

I won't link, but they exist.

Craigslist was just another place to advertise.

[Kablooie]

28. I had no idea I was so naive. But craigslist is the only one that was evil, I guess.

[AzNick]

34. They were the big one

I have to admit to taking a look a while back and it was a little bit appalling.

Note that I'd rather have these ladies officiate from their homes than in the streets, but they remain at risk and many are exploited by a pimp no matter what.

[Gamey]

7. Morality and ethics will never, ever be enforced nor legislated

Only taught. Authoritarianism doesn't work on those dishing it out.

[digitaln3rd]

8. I don't care about those sites but..

.. The Internet should not be regulated by any one country.

If a crime is committed in a state, fine, go after the person that committed it but going after "the Internet" is just a scapegoat and a way to make it look like politicians are actually doing something. (Newsflash go after the groups actually doing illegal stuff rather then the websites?)

"Quick, look.. we're censoring the web so we must be doing a good job, right?" Ugh. This is why I despise politicians.

Seems like Craigslist did more of a tongue-in-cheek 'eff you' to the Government with the wording of "censored" to me.

[Dappleganger]

9. Good. Next, they need to kill the Pets Community page.

It's a haven for backyard breeders and completely out of control in most cities.

[mzmolly]

12. I thought initially you were being

sarcastic. :blush: In hindsight I think you're serious, and rightfully so.

:hi:

[EFerrari]

43. Driving an activity underground never stops it. n/t

[ixion]

11. Another win for fascism

hurray, not.

Eliminating the "adult services" section of craigslist will do absolutely nothing to curb the REAL problem of human trafficking. Nothing. It is simply the Law Enforcement community flexing muscle, 'cause they can.

[daylan b]

31. Is blocking the sale of a puppy fascism?

How about alcohol?

[ixion]

35. Yes, on both counts.

[JonBenet Ashcroft]

15. Sex worker unemployment rates: who counts it?

[Anakin Skywalker]

17. Their Clients, I Suppose?

The clients will feel the pain! Poor johns. Ha ha!

[savalez]

18. self deleted - wrong post

[drm604]

20. Won't they just advertise in the Personals section?

Will they shut that down next?

[Xithras]

22. Yes, that's why the section was created in the first place.

Craigslist didn't have an adult services section when it launched, but prostitution showed up on the site almost immediately, under various sections. They tacked on the Erotic Services section about five years after launching so that the ads would be located in one easily avoidable place. Before that, prostitution ads showed up in the various personals sections, on the discussion forums, and even under the general For Sale boards and some of the Jobs categories. It was a mess, and their solution was effective in cleaning up most of the site.

I'd guess that the ads will just start showing up in the other sections again.

[drm604]

24. Which just goes to show

that for some things attempts at prohibition often make the situation worse. At least when there was a specific section people could avoid it.

You'd have to shut down the whole internet to stop it. Actually even that wouldn't work, they managed to advertise before the internet. Hell, they managed to advertise before computers. Probably before telephones.

[Dappleganger]

25. They already are showing up.

One friend of mine in CA said that ads are showing up in the computer section as well.

And for the record, I don't object to adult services. What that category was used for quite often (unfortunately) was advertisement for child prostitution (even locally, there are several stings a year). That's including human trafficking, folks. Slavery.

[drm604]

33. No one's arguing in favor of child prostitution and slavery.

The problem is that this just ends up spreading the ads all over the damn site so that it's arguably harder for authorities to track them. Channeling them all to one specific area makes it easier for authorities to monitor them.

If Xithras is correct, then this was done in an effort to clean up the website. Shutting down the section merely reverts things to the old less desirable situation.

Obviously, the best answer would be constant monitoring and deletion but it appears that Craigslist lacks the resources to do this. Now the task will be even more difficult but you can bet that they'll still come under criticism.

To me this appears to be a case of authorities responding to cries to "do something" even though the "something" makes the situation even more uncontrollable.

[daylan b]

36. Then why block other illegal activity on the site?

Wouldn't it make it easier for authorities to track them if they allowed posting of anything people wanted?

[drm604]

38. What other illegal activity do they explicitly block?

Do drug dealers attempt to advertise on Craigslist? Do hitmen? What other criminal activities explicitly attempt to advertise on Craigslist in such a pervasive manner, and how does Craigslist block them?

I know that they try to stop scams, but scam artists (as opposed to prostitutes) obviously try to hide what they are so the best solution for scams is to warn people about scammers and delete their ads when they can be identified. I suppose they could also post a disclaimer warning people away from prostitutes (maybe they already do?) but I doubt that anybody believes that would achieve anything.

There is something called "harm reduction" where you try to reduce the problem as much as possible. For sex trafficking it appears to me that segregating these ads to one section seems like it may be the most effective strategy (although I'm certainly open to argument), for other crimes this isn't necessarily the case.

Not all illegal activities fit into a "one size fits all" box. Different things are best handled in different ways.

Having adult services ads spread all over the site is a worse situation (or at least it's no better) than segregating them all in one section.

The ads are going to continue to appear and Craigslist will continue to get heat about them. Nothing has been solved here. I don't know how to stop slavery and sex trafficking. I wish I did - especially anything involving children. But this is useless hand waving. This stuff goes on all over the internet and worrying about how things are categorized on one website is a "feel good" waste of time.

If I ran Craigslist what I might do is to start somehow requiring proof of identity for advertisers. I don't know how feasible that is, but it would likely cut down on the problem. Of course that would just move it onto other websites, some outside U.S. jurisdiction, but at least it would absolve Craigslist.

[daylan b]

39. What activity do they explicitly block?

Obscene material or child pornography.
Offer or solicitation of illegal prostitution.
Weapons and related items, including but not limited to firearms, disguised, undetectable or switchblade knives, martial arts weapons, scopes, silencers, ammunition, ammunition magazines, BB guns, tear gas or stun guns.
Items issued to United States Armed Forces that have not been disposed of in accordance with Department of Defense demilitarization policies.
Fireworks, including but not limited to "safe and sane" fireworks or any destructive devices or explosives.
Controlled substances or illegal drugs, substances and items used to manufacture controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.
Alcohol or tobacco products.
Prescription drugs and medical devices, including but not limited to prescription or contact lenses, defibrillators, hypodermic needles or hearing aids.
Nonprescription drugs that make false or misleading treatment claims or treatment claims that require FDA approval.
Blood, bodily fluids or body parts.
Household pets of any kind including but not limited to dogs, cats, primates, cage birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish. Re-homing with small adoption fee OK
Pet animal parts, blood, or fluids - including but not limited to stud/breeding service
Restricted or regulated plants and insects, including but not limited to noxious weeds, endangered plant species, or live insects or pests.
Pesticides or hazardous substances, or items containing hazardous substances including but not limited to contaminated toys, or art or craft material containing toxic substances without a warning label.
Illegal telecommunications equipment, including but not limited to access cards, password sniffers, access card programmers and unloopers, or cable descramblers
Stolen property, or property with serial number removed or altered.
Burglary tools, including but not limited to lock-picks or motor vehicle master keys
False identification cards, items with police insignia, citizenship documents, or birth certificates.
Counterfeit currency, coins and stamps, tickets, as well as equipment designed to make them.
Counterfeit, replica, or knock-off brand name goods.
Material that infringes copyright, including but not limited to software or other digital goods you are not authorized to sell, warez, bootlegs (without consent of the band).
Airline tickets that restrict transfer, and tickets of any kind which you are not authorized to sell.
Coupons or gift cards that restrict transfer, and coupons or gift cards which you are not authorized to sell.
Gambling items, including but not limited to lottery tickets, sports trading card 'grab bags', raffle tickets, sweepstakes entries or slot machines.
Used or rebuilt batteries, or batteries containing mercury.
Used bedding and clothing, unless sanitized in accordance with law.
Non-packaged food items or adulterated food.
Bulk email or mailing lists that contain names, addresses, phone numbers, or other personal identifying information

http://www.craigslist.org/about/prohibited.items

You'll notice that a good portion of those are not only legal but very common. There's a joke about how you're only able to sell one type of pussy on the site and it's not the kind that meows.

[daylan b]

30. Now they're at least consistent, no selling your puppy or your pu...

..

[Shining Jack]

42. Kick !

[cbdo2007]

45. I don't understand how they are being "censored"

I'm not sure the Craigslist guys understand what's going on here. It isn't considered free speech to allow people to break the law. Just like you couldn't post an ad trying to hire someone to kill your brother, you shouldn't be able to post any illegal activity.

Personally I think prostitution should be legal but the fact is that is isn't, so Craigslist should not allow people to break the law on their website. Banning them from doing this is not a free speech issue, it is a breaking the law issue.

Whether or not prostitution is legal isn't the issue, it's whether or not Craigslist should allow illegal activities to occur on their website.

[davepc]

50. Seems more like attacking a symptom then the underlying disease

Human trafficking and slavery won't go away because people can't use Craigslist to find it.

I doubt the next boat load of women smuggled into the USA to work as nannies or domestic labor who find themselves in massage houses and strip clubs and bordellos will have less women on it because Johns can't use craigslist to find women to exploit.

e: meant as a reply to the OP