Craigslist cracks down on whoring

CRAIGSLIST IS CRACKING down on child exploitation and prostitution after the Attorneys General of 40 states and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) asked it to shape up.

Craigslist agreed to try stop its classifieds from being used as a meat market for human traffickers, paedophiles, and prostitutes. But the measures mainly focus on reducing sex service spambot ads, and some reckon Craigslist is only making a half hearted effort in the hope the law will get off its case.

The sell-anything site has promised the attorneys general of 40 states it will, from now on, demand that anyone posting an ad for "erotic services" provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card (until now, only job listings required posters to pay a fee). The site is also promising it will cough up people’s personal information to police or law enforcement if subpoenaed. “We view it as raising the accountability," said Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster who noted "legitimate business should have no problem with that”.

"The incidence of crime on Craigslist is actually exceedingly low, considering the tens of millions of legitimate ads posted each month by well-intentioned users," said the Craigslist Chief Exec, noting legal escort services would not be much affected by new regulations.

Buckmaster went on to say, “We are unequivocally committed to stamping out misuse of the site and to improving safety for Craigslist users, through preventative measures”.

Craigslist also filed lawsuits against 14 software and Internet companies this week, accusing them of helping people get around the new measures against inappropriate content and illegal activity.

Craigslist will also co-operate with authorities to help find missing children and victims of human trafficking using new search technology, according to a statement.

The Attorney General for Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, was happy with the deal, noting, "Prostitutes will hopefully stop using Craigslist to break the law, knowing that their posts could lead to arrest and conviction". Of course, this wildly underestimates the intelligence of most prostitutes, many of whom do have working phone numbers, credit cards, and ways of advertising their services discretely.

Still, naughty or nice, posters of erotic ads are going to have to be a bit more careful this Christmas on Craigslist. µ