Craigslist has agreed to remove its 'erotic services' category. But how long will it take for the sex industry to build a better mousetrap?
(Illustration by Jake Turcotte)Photos (1 of 1)
Craigslist shuts its ‘Internet brothel.’ Will it matter?
By Matthew Shaer | 05.13.09
Under heavy fire from critics across the country, the classified advertising site Craigslist today announced it would shutter its “erotic services” category. In a statement, a Craigslist spokesman sought to play down “the sensationalistic journalism we’ve seen these past few weeks” – a reference to the furor surrounding the capture of the so-called “Craigslist killer.” The statement went on to assert that “use of Craigslist classifieds is associated with far lower rates of violent crime than print classifieds, let alone rates of violent crime pertaining to American society as a whole.”
Still, the company said it would remove the “erotic services” category within seven days:
Effective today for all US sites, a new category entitled “adult services” will be opened for postings by legal adult service providers. Each posting to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site, to ensure compliance with craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5.
The announcement was lauded in law enforcement circles. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who met with the Craigslist team in New York recently, and has called the site a “blatant Internet brothel,” said that, “Craigslist is heeding our clear call for conscience and common sense, sending a strong signal that Internet sites must police themselves to protect others.”
Now what?
But the closing of the “erotic services” category is not the end of Craigslist’s adult content. The site will now switch to an “adult services” vertical, which will be policed by a team of Craigslist employees. As Gawker and others have noted, of course, this is a tricky proposition – even a large team of specially-trained spotters will have a tough time keeping up with the questionable material which will undoubtedly flood the site. Over at Missouri’s Riverfront Times, Nick Lucchesi writes:
Like any tool, Craigslist can be used to help or to hurt; turning CL employees into monitors is like telling everyone to play nice on the Internet… those johns and ladies will likely just go somewhere else to arrange hook-ups.
Everywhere, all the time
Even according to conservative estimates, sex and adult entertainment represents a huge swath of overall Internet usage across the globe. (On Craigslist, for instance, the “erotic services” vertical was once the biggest draw for visitors of the site, according to some estimates.) When Craigslist starts policing this content, will the sex industry build a better mousetrap?
Consider this: In April, as law enforcement began to put pressure on Craigslist, the Sun newspaper in England reported that one local brothel had moved its services onto Twitter.
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2. Knight | 05.13.09
Goodbye Erotic services / Hello Adult services ! Clever ! Everyone will claim they win, but hasn’t changed a thing. Actually this makes it harder for the law to figure out which of the postings to investigate because now CL employees will be helping to sanitize the postings before they are placed. A great service for the providers using CL to hawk their “wares”.
3. misha | 05.13.09
Before the internet, the telephone was used. Before that, the mail was used. And now, those people will find another means.
Did anyone look at the classifieds in weekly city tabloids? Does anyone look at the classifieds in New York magazine?
Get real.
4. Bryan Richard | 05.13.09
It doesn’t matter.
Sites like LaciesList.com, or Backpage.com, or Kijiji, or Olx, or … etc etc … will keep posting these kinds of ads. Take down the Erotic Services section, and everyone moves to Intimate / Sex / Casual.
The War on Sex will turn out just like the War on Drugs: Ineffective, expensive, and intrusive.
5. Marcus | 05.13.09
What a joke. They just ruined a great way to bust people and get some revenue. Do they think it’ll be easier to bust “johns” and the prostitues back on the street or using other websites?
6. Keith | 05.14.09
If people want to pay for it, other people will find a way to promote it and sell it. Look at the “war” on drugs. Look at prohibition. All the laws and social conscience in the world can’t override human desires. Even in countries that outlaw behaviors and punish by death, the behaviors move indoors into private residences. Why not legalize it, tax it and regulate it into submission? That approach has worked pretty well for curbing other things, like alcohol consumption, cigarettes and affordable health care.
7. Barbara | 05.14.09
I completely agree with Keith’s comment that we can’t legislate/override human desires. Legalizing prostitution, drugs, alcohol, as he points out, brings these activities out in the open so they can be properly managed in society through regulation and education. Tax revenue and containing the spread of disease would be additional benefits. A reduction in black markets,gang activity, and even rapes could be a positive results as well. There is nothing immoral or harmful in being realistic about the spectrum of human behavior and providing avenues for healthier expression of them to help keep order in society.
8. cserpent | 05.14.09
It’s disappointing that one sex category was simply replaced by another. Craigslist should get out of the Sex Business, period. There are plenty of other sites for that garbage.
9. Angela | 05.14.09
What is worse is that escorts are posting their services in Therapeutic Services, especially since they started charging them. Licensed Legitimate Massage therapist now have to deal with their health care profession being disrespected. Now thereapeutic needs to be changed to Health Care Services!
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1. SteveSanders | 05.13.09
Haha..no, it does not matter…ever heard of myspace? facebook? twitter?…how about adultfriendfinder?. And these are the “big, corporate” ones…think about all the little websites out there.