Craigslist Removes Adult Services from their Page

In the past, the media has scrutinized the Internet classifieds website, Craigslist. They have been under media fire for scams, such as financial theft, prostitution, false advertisement, among others. Now the website has removed their adult service section from the website after 17 state attorneys claimed that particular section was unlawful and illegal in some terms. 

For people looking for adult services they will have to look somewhere other than the popular website. Craigslist replaced the adult service section with a black label that contains the word “censored” written across it in white letters. Police authorities, the public, and lawyers all stated that they were insulted by the fact that they believed that the adult service section of the adds promoted prostitution and made women sell themselves and their bodies against their will. This battle has been going on since Craigslist started the adult services section in 2009.

On August 24, Craigslist received a letter from 17 states and their attorneys general. According to the New York Times, the letter stated “your much-touted ‘manual review’ of adult service ads has failed to yield any discernible reduction in obvious solicitations. We recognize that Craigslist may lose the considerable revenue generated by the adult service ads. No amount of money can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution, and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist.” They were then ordered to remove the section from their website immediately.

Many people believed that the adult section at Craigslist pointed to prostitution due to the services it provided. Some services that could be paid for and supplied to the buyer were a personal masseuse, a night companion, and dates for money, including much more. Ads could be personally placed on the website itself. Pricing could be as low as $5.

There have been a high number of people that have been linked to murders after meeting someone from Craigslist. One person, Phillip Markoff, was accused of murdering a masseuse that he met on Craigslist. Children and teens have come up missing after searching the website. Customers also complained that after paying for an item, they awaited its arrival, and never received any package.

According to Craigslist and the maker of the website, Jerry Buckmaster, said that all adult service ads were reviewed by a lawyer before being posted to the site. Craigslist also claims that the Communications Decency Act protected them from anything that was posted to their site. They are currently working with the authorities to do what’s right.