Craigslist Shuts Down ''Adult Services'' Section

[littlec]

damn, no more online hookers! Who is going to ship me my whores now that the e-pimps are out of commission?

 

[The Greater Good]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Now how else am I gonna find your mom?

\I keed

 

[nightcrawl3r]

I am glad they did that.

 

[Guest]

I bet this wouldn't have been an issue if Bill Clinton was in office..

 

[martel80]

What prevents anyone from hosting a site like that from some other country where such advertising is completely legal? It's called INTERnet, after all.

 

[shloader]

[citation][nom]thegreathuntingdolphin[/nom]But it doesn't stop sex slavery. Prostitution and brothels are legal in Germany and the Netherlands yet both still have a problem with sex slavery. Legalizing it didn't get rid of the problem because it is still a lot cheaper to kidnap girls and use them as forced prostitutes. The legalization of prostitution in 2000 led to a huge increase in big organized crime organizations in the Netherlands leading to the closing of large sections of the Red Light District in 2008-2009.[/citation]

Completely agree and ct1615, Stings haven't been tried in a volume necessary to make a dent. So the Attorneys General are putting on the pressure under the guise of some moral crusade well that's bullsh!t. By pushing this out of a consolidated area they do make it harder to find for the general public, yes, but for law enforcement, too. I think both were equally the goal. The AG could care less whether or not underage sex trafficking is actually happening so long as it's not in the public eye. Were CL to continue the section the Attorneys General would have to do their job organizing law enforcement to combat the issue.

 

[atk0309]

I am sorry but this will just mean that all these people will find a new service to abuse for their purposes. This is so pointless that i cannot imagine why do they even bother.
Do not fight the media fight the perpetrators. But i guess PR is much MUCH more important that actually doing something meaningful.

 

[Guest]

Legitimate massage therapy is going to be the victim once again. When Craigslist shut down the earlier sex section, my sister who is a legitimate massage therapist had a harder time screening calls to insure that potential clients don't want what she does not provide. Customers looking for a legitimate massage therapist will also wind up with unexpected service providers and decide the risk is not worth it and stop being customers for people like my sister.
I don't know what the right answer or even if there is a right answer to stopping sex slavery harming adults or children but simply forcing the sex trade to moving their advertising into other sections does not seem like a real solution. I am sure that massage therapy is not the only legitimate business being affected.
There are real solutions like legalizing, licensing, monitoring health and who can be in the sex trade industry would work if done right but we live in a fast food, silver bullet society. A good idea not thoroughly designed and properly executed can be worse than just leaving things as they are. The devil is in the details. It looks as if some will be re-elected in November because of their "tough" stance on "crime", others will have a good report for the board of directors, and some will have a good sermon from their pulpits while others will feel better about themselves. Did anything really change? No, not for those that this change is intended for, things have simply more difficult for people trying to make a living doing legal and morally acceptable work. That is OK, many people will sleep better in the belief that the world became a little bit better.

Gorf

 

[drwho1]

I used to laugh at the jokes.... errr (ads?)
oh well...

in the other hand if it was true that note about exploiting children, then I'm glad that it has been shut down. although I don't remember ever seen such an ad
on that section. (or I would have alert the authoities myself).

 

[bounty]

Next up, AG's to ban "http/www.bing.com/search?q=adult+services&form=QBLH&qs=n&sk=&sc=4-12"

 

[Guest]

Interesting that CL got the bulk of the criticism. Sites like Backpage, Cityvibe just to name two, do the exact same thing and don't get chomped on. They were just the scapegoat for people that wanted to whine.

 

[chomlee]

I have seen several interviews with Craig himself, and he is pretty much a scumbag. I can understand having an adult section of a website, but personally, I would hope that most website owners would shut that section down imediately when they realize that children are being sold on their site.

Craig, on the other hand has the attitude, "Hey, don't look at me, I just provide the web page, I am not the one commiting the crime".

I am sure at his speeches that he gives, he talks about how he has changed the way people sell items locally online, and I am sure he feels pretty proud of it. My thinking is, if he deserves the credit for changing the online selling world, I think he can be given the credit for aiding the child sex trade. In my mind, the fact that he has never shown any remorse or seem to care about what is happening on his site, tells me he is just as guilty.

 

[jamjamason]

George Carlin said it best:
"I don't understand why prostitution is illegal. Selling is legal, f***ing is legal. So why isn't it legal to sell f***ing? Why should it be illegal to sell something that's legal to give away?"

 

[milktea]

What I don't understand is, is the GOV trying to stop Adult Services on the Internet or are they just trying to stop Adult Services on Craigslist? Clearly, the goals are different for the two. And I'm not sure about the former, because it would be a monumental task.

 

[chomlee]

I think alot of people don't understand the true issue. They aren't trying to shut down craigslist because of prostitution per say, it is the fact that there have been many accounts of women and children being forced into this prostitution and craigslist has on many accounts failed to monitor even obvious ads trafficking children.

If craigs list was just advertising good old fashioned F&&&ng from a willing individual, there would be no issue here.

 

[Guest]

Glad to see that the state AGs have finally figured out how to stop prostitution entirely. Clearly, now that you can't get hookers on CL, there won't be any more. I mean, look at how well it worked in the "war on drugs"; it's not like it's now easier for kids to get pot than booze...

 

[Guest]

I used to browse those ads frequently just for laughs and i never saw anyone who looked underage. Furthermore, why are we trying to make sex a crime. Thats rediculous. I suppose you anti prostitution guys are for banning casual sex as well?

Nevada does a good job of keeping it safe for both parties. Yet, no one wants to look at that. Its easier to scream think about the children and stay ignorant.

 

[eddieroolz]

I realize that it provided underage sex easily to people, but I don't see what's so bad about this.

 

[conebone96]

Go attorneys. I'm sure they have admonished prostitution once and for all. hurray

Bunch of A holes thinking you can legislate morality. wouldn't have been easier to track down and punish these child pornographers with Craig's list running than not.

 

[acadia11]

Bottom line, prostitution should be legal, this is an archaic law, simply because it's out of your view and helps you sleep at night does not make it go away. Sex trafficking, actually, any form of slavery should be illegal, prostitution of children should be illegal, a regulated industry would be alot safer than trying to illegalize it much like drugs. This is akin to "morality laws" like prohibition, which in the end raised crime rates and was far less successful than a regulated industry.