Craigslist touts 'spectacular' reduction in erotic ads
Craigslist released numbers Monday it touted as evidence of its success in reducing the volume of "erotic services" ads appearing on the Web classified site in an apparent response to a federal lawsuit that accuses the site of facilitating prostitution.
The number of ads for such services is down 90 percent to 95 percent during the past 12 months on Craigslist sites that serve five major U.S. cities, according to information posted on a company blog. The site credited the "spectacular" reduction on its joint effort with 40 attorneys general and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children it announced in November 2008, which included the introduction of new measures that require posters to the erotic section to furnish a working phone number and credit card:
Beyond the enormous reduction in ad volume, the ads that remain on the site are much improved in their compliance with our Terms of Use and local laws, in part due to screening measures developed in collaboration with the Attorneys General and law enforcement.
In this same timespan, craigslist staff have continued to work closely with law enforcement agencies across the country to vigorously pursue those engaged in the horrific crimes of human trafficking and exploitation of minors.
Finally, net revenue is accumulating from the fees now required of those posting under "erotic services," 100% of which is earmarked for donation to worthy charities, and we will soon be in position to begin distributing these funds.
The site also released the graph below to illustrate the reduction in erotic services ad volume during the past year for the cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle.
(Credit:
Craigslist)
The blog posting is an apparent response to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday against Craigslist by the sheriff of Illinois' Cook County, alleging that the Web's largest classifieds publication is "facilitating prostitution." Sheriff Tom Dart asked the court to force Craigslist to remove the Web publication's erotic section and for $100,000 in compensation for the man-hours the county has had to pay police to investigate alleged criminal services being advertised on the site.
In a previous response to Dart's lawsuit, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster suggested that the suit was a waste of time.
"As our counsel explained to Sheriff Dart's Department in 2007," Buckmaster wrote, "Craigslist cannot be held liable, as a matter of clear federal law, for content submitted to the site by our users...Frankly, Sheriff Dart's actions mystify me."
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven. 
The vast drop displayed on the graph above is not presented with enough data to ensure these were legitimately illegal ads that were removed, or just the exodus of a vast number of adult dating and porn site spammers.
The fact that all displayed cities demonstrate nearly identical patterns is suspect.
A cursory glance at the Erotic Services section of any of the above cities will demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that little to no actual improvement has been realized, despite repeated claims to the contrary by Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist.
They are trying to have their prostiute and eat her too, making money off Erotic Services ads and the traffic they generate while saying, 'Hey look we've reduced these ads, even though we are reducing ads that we are also claiming no responsiblity for."
#2, you people are pure idiots if you really think that any legislation ANYWHERE will wipe prostitution off the face of the earth. Boneheads like that have been trying to do it for thousands of years, and they still haven't succeeded. Wonder why? What CL is concerned about (rightly so) are crimes like child-trafficking and abusive pimping. The simple fact is that the vast majority of advertisers of "erotic services" on CL are individuals acting on their own behalf. Unless that individual uses the ad to facilitate committing a violent crime like forcibly abducting someone to work as a sex worker, they should be free to conduct themselves as they see fit. Stop trying to herd cats.
#3, as stated in a previous Cnet article and on CL blogs, CL originally created the "erotic services" category AT THE REQUEST OF ITS CUSTOMERS, because the hookers were junking up the personals sections. Eliminating that category WILL NOT "solve" any problem - even problems that don't currently exist.
#4, in regard to the legality of "spam bots", perhaps you should all throw out the sleazy people you voted into Congress who consistently prevent any sort of REAL anti-spam legislation from getting passed in this country - not to mention, the feds PRE-EMPTING halfway-decent state legislation (ie in California) with their pro-corporate, pro-spam garbage legislation like the [now I] "CAN SPAM" law.
@KevinMesiab: you provide 1,000 times less proof of your assertion that CL has not made any progress in reducing erotic services advertising than CL does. I sincerely doubt either you or Sheriff Dart are interested in anything less than the removal of all erotic advertising whatsoever. CL has convincingly demonstrated that they have chopped that volume down massively. If you think they're going to have a long interview with every single poster to ascertain whether or not they really mean "massage" when they say "massage", whatever you're smoking is a heck of a lot stronger than anything I have access to.
Here in America, prostitution is to be illegal and thus practiced in the strictest privacy. If you think prostitution should be a public matter with ads in the paper, take your man-purse and move to Holland with the rest of the socialists.
At least they are trying to follow their constitution while our leaders swear to defend it and then **** on it!
CL could simply use the same security measures they have for the for-sale ads for every post...that would eliminate the bots completely. I didn't realize that CL required the government's push in order to do the right thing.
Are you making the case that the government has to force companies to do the right thing, especially CL?
We need a fiscal and physical relief program for those of us who can't afford the recessionary pricing of this very valuable public service. It would be USDA PRIME inspected and price controlled.
I know I would take advantage of a program to assist the needy. What would it be? ...Coupons, rebates, a two for one package, buy one get one free like Safeway? Maybe a lottery ...Free for life!
You wouldn't have to buy dinners and BS your next target.
Google prostitution and Craigslist and you will see that local law enforcement and the FBI have spent a HUGE amounts of OUR TAX DOLLARS busting not just hookers, Jons and pimps but also people who traffic in SLAVES and CHILDREN! There is NO other classified ads site on the internet that gets the amount of traffic that Craigslist gets and Craigslist has become the largest source of prostitution and human trafficking (SLAVES) in the USA.
Basically Craigslist is saying it?s too much trouble for them to reduce the number of flags required to remove a hooker ad and way too much trouble for them to increase the number of ip addresses banned for having ads repeatedly flagged off. The majority of the population who believe disease spreading crackhead hookers, child molesters and slavers should be prosecuted by our legal system can just suck it up and quietly foot the bill to clean up Craigslist?s growing mess! Even the people of very liberal San Francisco voted to NOT legalize prostitution! HMMMM 5 Seconds of computer programing or MILLIONS of tax dollars?
I hope more people file suit against Craigslist and I hope our laws catch up with technology so all of Craigslist?s staff can be prosecuted! How Craigslist can allow criminals to prosper so and then be ?mystified? that heros like Sheriff Dart go after them is beyond me!
These Craigslist hookers are desperate, gun carrying, disease spreading hookers selling themselves for $50 to $150 and hour to make money to get their next fix NOT the beautiful Hollywood version of a hooker!
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