This weekend, Craigslist blocked access to its “adult services” section in response to requests from 17 states attorneys general to shut down the adult ads and improve screening tactics elsewhere in the site. The requests were due to concerns of illegal prostitution and unchecked human trafficking, especially trafficking of children into the sex trade. In a dramatic flair, Craigslist covered the adult services link with a black “censored” bar.
A bastion of civil liberty? Probably not.
Bad PR? Oh, yes.
Craigslist has the right to publish adult ads under a federal law called the Communications Decency Act, but they don’t have the right to knowingly facilitate nonconsensual sex encounters with trafficked victims. The small company has been pretty quiet about the issue since first modifying its policy on adult ads in 2009, and this “censorship” hoopla is likely to exacerbate a situation that could have easily been resolved with a simple press release detailing revised monitoring standards. One contentious issue is how to prevent human traffickers from exploiting victims through adult ads on Craigslist and other online platforms for sex.
