Craigslist Announces That Erotic Services Section Will be Replaced by Adult Services Section
Written by: Karen Benardello
Classified ad giant Craigslist has announced that it will replace its "erotic services" section, which critics have call a front for prostituiton, with a staff-reviewed "adult services" category.
Craigslist chief executive Jim Buckmaster called the internal monitoring an acceptable compromise for users and law enforcement. The new ads would require an increase in posting price, up to $10 from $5. There is also going to be a reposting charge of $5.
However, some law enforcement officials have said the website hasn't lived up to an agreement it signed in November with state attorneys generals to better monitor ads and delete blatant prostitution ads. NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he had notified Craigslist about a prostitution-related case that implicated the site. "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-backed," Cuomo said.
The announcement came after a lawsuit was filed in a Chicago court after an Illinois sheriff investigated the site. The change has also come after a Boston med student was charged with kiling a masseuse he allegedly met through an erotic ad on Craigslist. During the beginning of this month, a Hauppauge, New York woman was also charged with aggravated assault after allegedly osting a Craigslist "casual encounters" ad, in which she sent callers seeking sex to one of her neighbors.
Craigslist attorney Eric Brandfonbrener told a federal judge on Wednesday, May 13 that the charges would satisfy concerns in the lawsuit filed by the Illinois sheriff, Thomas Dart. "My expectation is that it will be moot," Brandfonbrener said. The sherrif's office said that it won't drop the suit, though, until it sees details and the plan is recorded in court.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment