Under siege from attorney generals from several states, Craigslist promised to shut down its erotic service section. The officials had claimed that the site supported trade in prostitution. -DB
San Francisco Chronicle
May 14, 2009
By Verne Kopytoff
Craigslist promised Wednesday to shutter its erotic services section, eliciting mixed reviews from government officials who had accused the online classifieds site of allowing prostitution ads to proliferate.
The San Francisco company instead opened a new section labeled “adult services,” where employees will review all ads before they are posted.
Craigslist is hoping to mollify criticism that it is operating an online red-light district, but even those who supported the changes said they would hold off from declaring victory. They are concerned that prostitutes may circumvent the new measures by posting their ads elsewhere on the site or by using vague language.
“It’s clear to everyone that Craigslist’s erotic services section was nothing more than an Internet brothel,” Lisa Madigan, attorney general for Illinois, said in a statement. “I’m encouraged that Craigslist has agreed to fundamentally change how they operate and monitor their site.”
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, however, was more skeptical. He castigated Craigslist for failing to consult with his office before amending its policies and said the company didn’t go far enough in its crackdown.
“Rather than work with this office to prevent further abuses, in the middle of the night, Craigslist took unilateral action, which we suspect will prove to be half-baked,” Cuomo said.
Since its founding in 1995, Craigslist has evolved into a go-to place to find everything from futons for sale to roommates. That popularity has also made it a beacon for illegal activity, eliciting criticism that the site doesn’t do enough to police postings.
Under the new policy announced Wednesday, Craigslist will hire employees to manually review every ad submitted to the adult services category and remove any “suggesting or implying an exchange of sexual favors for money.” Pornographic images are also prohibited.
The ads, costing $10 (or $5 for reposts), and payable by credit card, are available only to legal businesses, such as massage parlors and escort services. Telephone yellow pages and newspapers also accept such ads.
On Wednesday, Craigslist stopped accepting new postings in the erotic services section, where listings had cost $5. The category will be shut down next week.
Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist’s CEO, said the new safeguards are intended to “strike a balance” between government officials, users and legal adult businesses. Craigslist made the decision voluntarily, he insisted, and then, citing legal experts, said the company has always complied with the law.
Buckmaster stopped short of saying that prostitution would be eliminated from Craigslist. He would only say that the new policies will ensure that ads comply with the site’s terms of use.
Craigslist has traditionally kept intervention to a minimum, unless users flagged a particular ad or complained about being scammed. But the freewheeling philosophy, a product of the Bay Area’s prevailing live-and-let-live attitude, has increasingly clashed with law enforcement and public-interest groups elsewhere in the country.
Under pressure from 43 state attorneys general over prostitution, Craigslist in November agreed to start charging people who posted ads in its erotic services area a fee, payable only by credit card. The effort was aimed at reducing the volume of erotic ads and making people who post there more easily identifiable to law enforcement.
In response to the changes, Buckmaster said, the postings in erotic services dropped by up to 95 percent. However, several attorneys general expressed dismay that prostitution ads continued to appear.
The issue has been especially sensitive recently, following a slaying last month of a woman in Boston who advertised herself as a masseuse in Craigslist’s erotic services area. Authorities have charged a medical student who they say responded to the ad with the killing.
Buckmaster has repeatedly said that Craigslist is safer than advertising in print.
Maxine Doogan, founder of the Erotic Service Providers Union, a San Francisco group that represents sex workers, was disappointed about Craigslist actions, calling its efforts to combat prostitution censorship. She pointed out that Craigslist originally opened the erotic services section years ago after racy ads inundated other areas.
Doogan predicted that Craigslist will soon have a similar problem on its hands because of the crackdown.
“They’ll find a way around it,” Doogan said about sex workers.
On Wednesday afternoon, Craigslist’s new adult services area for San Francisco featured dozens of ads for “sensual domination” and “beautiful and sweet! Asian full body massage,” among other things. One poster, who titled his massage ad “experienced gay bear,” indicated that Craigslist’s new rules and ads rates were prompting him to advertise on the weekends only.
The posting went on to say: “Craigslist terms of use don’t allow for suggestive ads. Contact me for details of my massage,” leaving it an open question as to what kind of massage was really being offered.
Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff for the Illinois attorney general, said that Craigslist’s new policy doesn’t preclude her office from continuing to pressure the company. She’s certain that prostitutes will try to tone down their ads or post them in the casual encounters section, where users seek free, no-strings sex.
“Nothing forecloses us from going back to them tomorrow or next week,” Smith said.
© 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.