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From wired.com:
The online classified website Craigslist has removed its controversial Adult Services portion of its website. Technology blog TechCrunch was the first to report the section had been blacked out with the word “Censored.”
In August several state attorneys general called for the closing down of the Adults Services section on Craigslist due to the continued prostitution advertisements and continuing public outrage.
A multi-state letter was sent to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark, claiming that because craigslist cannot or will not be capable of screening adult services ads, it should stop accepting them altogether and shut down the section.
“Craigslist clearly lacks the wherewithal — or will — to fight flagrant prostitution ads that persist on its site,” the letter said. “Prostitution is a booming business on craigslist, perhaps more than ever before.”
“We understand that prostitution is profitable — but its human toll is intolerable, and craigslist should cease being an enabler. Despite its much-touted ‘manual review’ of Adult Services, craigslist has failed to block blatant prostitution ads.”
The section was shut down on Friday night to all users in the United States, but is still viewable by international users. (Emphasis mine)
Attorneys General in at least 18 states have been going after the “Adult” section of Craigslit, claiming it is largely a front for “escort” services, prostitution, and child exploitation.
A comment by Jim Buckmaster of Craigslist to the San Francisco Gate is very interesting:
“Is moving advertising around our best hope for addressing these harms?” he said. “Then the ads fall under personals, and how long before the demand is that we shut down personals? And where do those ads go next? What other sections of our site would they like us to shut down?”
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- AGs Urge Craigslist To Drop Adult Ads (techdailydose.nationaljournal.com)
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- Craigslist Censored: Adult Section Comes Down (techcrunch.com)
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