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Home › Entertainment

Craigslist Erotic Services | 05/13/2009 10:50 am

Craigslist to Pull 'Erotic Service' Ads in Response to 'Craigslist Killer'

Craigslist.com has been under scrutiny for its lax regulations in the wake of Philip Markoff, the accused ‘Craigslist Killer’ who allegedly found victims through online ads.
By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Craigslist will be removing "erotic services" advertisements from its website. The online classifieds service has been under scrutiny for its lax regulations in the wake of Philip Markoff, the accused "Craigslist Killer" who allegedly found victims who posted advertisements on craigslist.com.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced today that Craigslist plans on creating a new adult category that the website employees will review. The move comes after several states vowed to seek criminal action against the website. Last week, the Illinois attorney general joined with attorney generals from Connecticut and Missouri and met with the site’s employees to come up with a solution.

CNN reported on May 7 that South Carolina’s Attorney General Henry McMaster also wanted to see Craigslist develop a better way to filter their content. McMaster sent a letter last week to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster, in which McMaster asked him to delete categories in the South Carolina section of the site that advertise or solicit prostitution and pornography.

Any existing sexually suggestive ads on Craigslist will expire in seven days. 

Read more about: Craigslist, Craigslist Killer, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Julissa Brisman, News, Online, Philip Markoff, Technology

14 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Patty E
I use Craigs’ list all the time, and when I saw my first ‘erotic’ ad…I reprted it to Craigs’ list as inappropriate—-then the above news story came out, and I realized that Craigs’ list allowed these on purpose….I asked myself, ‘why?’  MONEY!  BIG BUCKS!  for the bottom line…….I am appalled at them for allowing this to begin with—-and certainly disgusted that they made attempt to continue allowing the porn.  The Craiglist, which at one time was a ‘safe’ family friendly website, that allowed perusal of the children of all ages, all of a sudden, has become a free-porn site for the perusal of all children…all for the sake of money….it sickened me….  
By Patty E on 05/13/2009 11:15 am
M J
Patty, I too used Craigs’ list once and got good results selling a washer and dryer. Heavens, though, until these crimes came out, I had no idea such a part of the list was for porn. I certainly hope they don’t revise it just to reinvent it in another way. I guess we all need to keep reporting it if we see it again.
By M J on 05/13/2009 11:33 am
DeBúrca obj
My son posted on Craigs’ List to find an apt sublet, and my daughter found her last pt time job through Craig’s List. This story does nothing to make me feel my kids are safe contacting anyone through that site. If no porn, the crazies will just move to a more legitimate ad to hunt people down.
By DeBúrca obj on 05/13/2009 11:47 am
R.J.B. Reed

Well, it seems to me that two completely seperate issues have been convoluted here.  One is "adult service" postings on Craigslist.  Another is that some psycho decided to use Craigslist to find victims to murder.  Removing the adult service ads, or putting them in an adults only section does nothing to eliminate the chances of being murdered by someone using craigslist.  However, given the number of people who use it, statistically we are quite safe.  So, I think Craigslist should discuss what should be done with the adult service ads without worrying about the Craigslist killer.

Yes, putting an adults only section would be good because it would prevent children (or others) from accidentally stumbling on the ads in the course of a different search.  However, there is nothing they can do to prevent children from accessing the adult content because it’s easy enough for a determined child to lie online.

By R.J.B. Reed on 05/13/2009 6:55 pm
Maggie W
All they will do is create a new adult category that will be an even bigger magnet for 12 year olds and the many Markoffs in the world.
By Maggie W on 05/13/2009 11:26 am
Deena B.

I don’t see how this improves anything.  Sounds like they are just calling it something else.

By Deena B. on 05/13/2009 11:53 am
HA BIBI
They’re not Deena, they are just going to rename the catagory "Adult"
By HA BIBI on 05/13/2009 11:57 am
Chrome Toe

Hmmmm…. this is a conundrum. I hate what happens to these girls. Selling themselves on Craigslist is obviously horrifically dangerous. Instead of using their power to punish Craigslist I wish these guys would use their power to legalize prostitution and keep this women/girls safe.

By Chrome Toe on 05/13/2009 12:50 pm
Mary Utrup
The Today Show this morning had a segment in conjunction with the Craiglist controversy where they placed an ad on the internet same kind of set up and you would not believe the number of women who showed up thinking they were going to be giving their services. I realize that the economic situation is less than desirable but you have to be completely out of your mind to just go anywhere to meet up with anyone and expect that it’s all going to be a safe experience. Not to mention the whole idea of just passing yourself off to just anyone. Where has self respect gone?
By Mary Utrup on 05/14/2009 4:14 pm
Pamela Munro
Hv gotten lots of leads & work from craigslist! Bless Craig.  But fyi the performers flagged the "adult" entertainment posts into their own category! They are segregated.  Ditto other similar categories.  You don’t HAVE to GO there. (Long ago they used to put cards up all over…)
By Pamela Munro on 05/13/2009 1:41 pm
Deena B.
No, of course you don’t have to go there.  But I don’t understand (and maybe I’m missing something) how this would do anything to deter another Markoff (or whoever) from striking.
By Deena B. on 05/13/2009 2:24 pm
Sherry Dale
Craigslist is a great resource, use it all the time.  BUT their "erotic" site should be restricted to people with credit cards, like the do the adult sites on the Internet.  Allowing access to young CHILDREN is NOT acceptable.  If craigslist doesn’t show more responsibility by seriously setting up an area for 18 and over, then it will lose my business.  PERIOD.
By Sherry Dale on 05/13/2009 2:48 pm
nanchan u

I’ve had several experiences with Craigslist, one that scared the living daylights out of me.

About three months ago, a neighbor of mine asked me if I would allow their tree cutting company to use my driveway for access into their backyard (it’s difficult to explain the situation, but the only way to drive any vehicle into their yard is to  go through mine and then another neighbor’s yard… it’s a hilly neighborhood).  I said yes, thinking that it would be a day or so of tree cutting and then my life would move on.

Two weeks later, they finally finished. But the tree cutting people had lft a huge amount of chopped wood in both my neighbor’s yard and my own.  When I complained that the cutting people needed to haul it away, they said they’d take care of it.

Imagine my surprise when the next day, there were fifteen strange pickup trucks lined up and down my hill waiting to get into my yard!  Thank GOD I work from home and was here.  I went outside with my cell phone and started to take pictures (and these people were actually posing.. the mind boggles).

Turns out the tree company put an ad out on Craigslist using MY ADDRESS, by the way, advertising for free wood.

We are currently in litigation against both the neighbor who hired the cutting people and the cutting people (they also completely destroyed half of MY backyard with all those trucks coming in and out in pouring down rain), but I think that Craigslist should be more careful in general about what they allow to be posted.  When I checked out the ad, there wasn’t even a contact number required…. what if this had been a prank?

This is a SAD dose of reality for the Craiglist people that you can’t trust folks and that if they continue to allow unchecked ads they will eventually set themselves up for some serious litigation from wounded parties (I’ll bet you a cord of wood that the families of the victims are already considering civil suits).

By nanchan u on 05/14/2009 9:12 am