http://tinyurl.com/qbguo5
"...the change appears to affect U.S.-based Craigslist sites only, not Canadian cities such as Toronto, where thousands of Craigslist erotic-services ads pop up each day, the majority of them seemingly advertising prostitution."
OMAR EL AKKAD
Globe and Mail Update
May 13, 2009 at 8:39 PM EDT
Craigslist, the world's most popular classified advertising site, is shutting down the controversial “erotic services” category on its website, responding to massive pressure from law-enforcement agencies around the United States.
As of Wednesday, all postings to the erotic services category – long known as a hub for prostitution ads – will not be accepted, the website announced. In one week, the category will be shut down altogether.
In its place, Craigslist is introducing a category called “adult services,” which is open to legal service providers. All postings in this category will be manually reviewed.
However, the change appears to affect U.S.-based Craigslist sites only, not Canadian cities such as Toronto, where thousands of Craigslist erotic-services ads pop up each day, the majority of them seemingly advertising prostitution.
“We are optimistic that the new balance struck today will be an acceptable compromise from the perspective of these constituencies, and for the diverse U.S. communities that value and rely upon Craigslist,” the company's CEO, Jim Buckmaster, said in a statement.
Craigslist, which logs tens of billions of page-views a month, has previously frustrated law-enforcement officials in the U.S., some of whom have gone on to sue the company over the erotic services ads. The most recent lawsuit came in March, filed by an Illinois sheriff.
Wednesday's announcement appears to be an attempt to quell such concerns. Even though the percentage of illegal activity is minuscule compared to overall traffic on the site, Craigslist has seen a wave of bad publicity in recent months, some of it stemming from an incident involving a masseuse who advertised on the service, and was later found dead in a Boston hotel room.
But it is unclear whether the website's new rules will appease everyone. Yesterday, reaction from legal and law-enforcement bodies was mixed.
“Several weeks ago, we informed Craigslist of an impending criminal case that implicated its website,” New York Attorney-General Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.
“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.”
Frustration appeared evident on both sides, as Craigslist executives also took issue with the assertion that the site is a hub of criminal activity.
“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, let alone rates of violent crime pertaining to American society as a whole,” Mr. Buckmaster said.
"...the change appears to affect U.S.-based Craigslist sites only, not Canadian cities such as Toronto, where thousands of Craigslist erotic-services ads pop up each day, the majority of them seemingly advertising prostitution."
OMAR EL AKKAD
Globe and Mail Update
May 13, 2009 at 8:39 PM EDT
Craigslist, the world's most popular classified advertising site, is shutting down the controversial “erotic services” category on its website, responding to massive pressure from law-enforcement agencies around the United States.
As of Wednesday, all postings to the erotic services category – long known as a hub for prostitution ads – will not be accepted, the website announced. In one week, the category will be shut down altogether.
In its place, Craigslist is introducing a category called “adult services,” which is open to legal service providers. All postings in this category will be manually reviewed.
However, the change appears to affect U.S.-based Craigslist sites only, not Canadian cities such as Toronto, where thousands of Craigslist erotic-services ads pop up each day, the majority of them seemingly advertising prostitution.
“We are optimistic that the new balance struck today will be an acceptable compromise from the perspective of these constituencies, and for the diverse U.S. communities that value and rely upon Craigslist,” the company's CEO, Jim Buckmaster, said in a statement.
Craigslist, which logs tens of billions of page-views a month, has previously frustrated law-enforcement officials in the U.S., some of whom have gone on to sue the company over the erotic services ads. The most recent lawsuit came in March, filed by an Illinois sheriff.
Wednesday's announcement appears to be an attempt to quell such concerns. Even though the percentage of illegal activity is minuscule compared to overall traffic on the site, Craigslist has seen a wave of bad publicity in recent months, some of it stemming from an incident involving a masseuse who advertised on the service, and was later found dead in a Boston hotel room.
But it is unclear whether the website's new rules will appease everyone. Yesterday, reaction from legal and law-enforcement bodies was mixed.
“Several weeks ago, we informed Craigslist of an impending criminal case that implicated its website,” New York Attorney-General Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.
“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.”
Frustration appeared evident on both sides, as Craigslist executives also took issue with the assertion that the site is a hub of criminal activity.
“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, let alone rates of violent crime pertaining to American society as a whole,” Mr. Buckmaster said.
