After facing heat in the form of threatened criminal charges as well as already existing lawsuits, Craigslist on Wednesday announced it will drop its "erotic services" section, and replace it with a new adult section that will be monitored by Craigslist employees.
It's sad to say it appears it took the murder of a young masseuse, Julissa Brisman, as well as the pressure of law enforcement authorities and many state attorneys general to make this happen. It's obvious to anyone who reads the ads in the "erotic services" section that they are all about prostitution, call girls, and "massage."
That case, and Boston University medical student Philip Markoff, 23, will likely be forever known as the case of the "Craigslist Killer," linking the popular website with a decidedly horrific incident.
Effective Wednesday, the "erotic services" section will no longer accept new ads, and the section will be removed completely in seven days. Posts to the "adult services" section will cost $10, twice as much as those for erotic services listings.
Craigslist said the following in a statement, still remaining somewhat defiant:
"Completely contrary to some of the sensationalistic journalism we've seen these past few weeks, the record is clear 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."
Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal said the following in a statement:
"We're very encouraged that Craigslist is doing the right thing in eliminating its online red light district with prostitution and pornography in plain sight. We'll be watching and investigating critically to make sure this measure is more than just a name change. This is a good next step but by no means is it the ultimate or complete solution."
And that would be my point as well. In fact, how can you have an adult services section at all without it turning into an Internet bordello (or being pretty empty of ads, one of the two)? I suppose we'll see in 7 days when the new section opens.
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