Craigslist Agrees to Remove 'Erotic Services' Section

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 13, 2009 - 9:20am.

Chicago - Online classifieds site Craigslist has agreed to remove its "Erotic Services" section, after complaints from a raft of state attorneys general that it was a haven for soliciting prostitution. After previous complaints, fueled in part by the revelation that alleged "Craigslist Killer" Philip Markoff sourced his victims from the site, Craigslist had agreed to crack down on Erotic Services posts, requiring a valid phone number and credit card information.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement that Craigslist was pressured to drop the section entirely when faced with "overwhelming evidence that craigslist had failed to comply with an earlier agreement to develop an effective screening process that would prevent illegal ads from being posted."

"It's clear to everyone that craigslist's erotic services section was nothing more than an Internet brothel," Madigan said.

"I'm encouraged that craigslist has agreed to fundamentally change how they operate and monitor their site. The steps they're taking are the only effective way to prevent the exploitation of women and children."

Under the agreement, Craigslist has agreed to create a new "Adult Services" section, where every post will be manually reviewed, and nude or graphic photos will not be permitted.

http://blog.craigslist.org/2009/05/striking-a-new-balance/

http://snipurl.com/hyliw (Ars Technica)