Craigslist to remove erotic services section, monitor adult services posts
Craigslist to remove erotic services section, monitor adult services posts
8:40 AM, May 13, 2009
After weeks of pressure from state and local law enforcement officials, Craigslist is announcing today that it will remove its controversial erotic services section permanently. In its place, the classifieds site has created an "adult services" category for which every new listing will be manually approved. Currently most ads on the site are posted without review.
CraigslistAs of today, the erotic services section will no longer accept new ads, and will be removed completely in seven days. Posts to the "adult services" section will cost $10, twice as much as those for erotic services listings. Craigslist had agreed to donate proceeds from the erotic services listings to charity, but says that rule will not necessarily apply to the new ads.
In a blog post that Craigslist plans to publish today and was provided to The Times, the San Francisco company argues that the case against it had been exaggerated.
Craigslist-erotic"Unsurprisingly, but completely contrary to some of the sensationalistic journalism we've seen these past few weeks, the record is clear that use of craigslist classifieds is associated with far lower rates of violent
crime than print classifieds," the post says.
"However, with respect to this new paid category for advertising by legal businesses, we will experiment with some of the methods traditionally employed in paid print classifieds."
Craigslist went on to thank various parties whose input influenced the decision, including attorneys general, law enforcement officers around the country and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which had defended the site online and in the media.
Law enforcement officials have often complained about the ease with which prostitutes and their clients can arrange encounters on Craigslist. But officials have stepped up their criticism since the slaying of masseuse Julissa Brisman, whose body was found April 14 in a Boston hotel. Police say the killer found her through a Craigslist ad.
Boston University medical student Philip Markoff, 23, is accused of bludgeoning Brisman with a gun and then shooting her. Rhode Island authorities filed additional charges last week, saying he robbed a stripper at a Warwick, R.I., Holiday Inn two days later. He was arrested the following week as he drove to a local casino with his fiancee.
Markoff has pleaded not guilty.
Check back here for updates, including interviews with Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
-- David Sarno
Well there it is....the end of an era.