The notorious section has been marked by a bar in black that says “censored.” The San Francisco classified ads service was heavily criticized for its adult services advertisements. Craigslist was contacted by 17 attorneys general from across the country last month to demand that these ads be immediately removed. Get the facts?
Attorneys general stated that the public’s growing backlash was an indication that Craigslist adult services section is being perceived as a prostitution haven. Attorneys general said that Craigslist should not post any ads since it could not screen them.
Craigslist closed its erotic service section in May of last year after “Craigslist Killer”, Philip Markoff, was arrested. Charges were then filed against the company accusing it of facilitating prostitution. In October, an Illinois judge dismissed the lawsuit after ruling that the company was not responsible for any wrongdoing by its users.
Craigslist, which was founded by Craig Newmark in 1995, has become the preferred service for online classified ads, including housing, personals and jobs, as well as community events, gigs, forums, and discussion groups. The company’s popularity quickly turned into notoriety when it became involved in illegal activities and controversies.
A Minneapolis woman admitted to running a prostitution business for underage girls through her company in September 2007. In the following month, a Minneapolis woman’s body was discovered in her trunk after she answered a job advertisement for a nanny. Michael John Anderson was found guilty of the murder in 2009.
Craigslist announced in 2008 that it was cracking down on malicious ads. It required those who posted erotic service ads to give a phone number, and pay a fee using a valid credit cards.
A Cook County, Illinois sheriff filed a lawsuit in March 2009 against Craigslist, accusing it of promoting prostitution and facilitating it through its section on erotic services. Craigslist stated that it was not possible for them to screen all the ads they receive daily, nor were they required to by federal law.
Markoff, 23, a medical student at Boston University, was arrested in April of last year on suspicion that he had murdered masseuse Julissa Britsman. Markoff also was accused of robbing an escort a few days before. In August of this year, while awaiting his trial, he committed suicide in the jail cell.