Digital Media

Catherine, a 35-year-old sex worker in San Francisco, is disgusted with U.S. lawmakers for demanding that Craigslist abolish the "erotic services" section.

Craig Newmark, Craigslist founder

She says she knew something was amiss on Monday when she attempted to post an ad, offering a massage with "a happy ending." Catherine, who posts on Craigslist about eight times a month, was prevented from posting and couldn't understand why.

"This is ridiculous," Catherine told CNET News. "It is a sign of an immature society to repress sexuality. You're going to create more violence by doing this. The more you repress or distort sexuality, the more problems you create." She described the move by the state attorneys general as "completely incompetent."

Craig Newmark, the man who founded Craigslist, said less than a month ago that there were no plans to dump the erotic-services category. But on Wednesday, the site announced that the Web classifieds publication will do away with its controversial "erotic services" section and replace it with a new "adult services" section. The biggest difference between them will be that for the first time all text and photos will be manually reviewed before they are posted in adult services.

Catherine, who has lived in the United States for 10 years, spoke with CNET News on the condition that she would remain anonymous. She asked to be identified in the article as "Catherine," after the actress, Catherine Deneuve, who played the role of a young housewife moonlighting as a prostitute in the film "Belle de Jour."

She said she can't believe that anyone would think shutting down Craigslist's erotic-services section will prevent prostitution. She said that people like her will attempt to post ads that will avoid detection by the human screeners. If that fails, she predicts that people will go to sites like Eros.com or elsewhere.

"I spoke with one of my clients," Catherine said. "The man is a bank official and he was devastated when he heard (the Craigslist) news."

Craigslist, the online classifieds publication much loved by users for declining to charge a fee for most of its services, issued a statement Wednesday about the closing of its "erotic services" section and the opening of a new "adult services" section:

Striking A Balance

As of today for all US craigslist sites, postings to the "erotic services" category will no longer be accepted, and in 7 days the category will be removed.

Also effective today for all US sites, a new category entitled "adult services" will be opened for postings by legal adult service providers. Each posting to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site, to ensure compliance with craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5.

Unsurprisingly, but 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.

The relative safety of craigslist compared to print classifieds is likely due to some combination of:

* Measures such as blocking, screening, and telephone verification
* Community moderation via flagging system
* Electronic trail ensures violent criminals are quickly caught
* Personal safety tips prominently posted
* Unusually high level of cooperation with law enforcement

Community moderation as exemplified by our flagging system is arguably the most successful system ever conceived for eliminating inappropriate activity from a massive internet community. Working in tandem with various other protective technologies, it is an inescapable force to be reckoned with for anyone set on abusing free internet communications across a broad array of posting types.

However, with respect to this new paid category for advertising by legal businesses, we will experiment with some of the methods traditionally employed in paid print classifieds.

We'd like to thank everyone who has provided helpful input over the past few weeks, all of which we've closely considered:

* Our users, whose suggestions have shaped every aspect of craigslist
* Attorneys General, who have provided valuable constructive criticism
* Law Enforcement officers nationwide, who have been hugely supportive
* Legal businesses concerned at their right to advertise being questioned
* EFF and other legal experts defending free speech and Internet law

We are optimistic that the new balance struck today will be an acceptable compromise from the perspective of these constituencies, and for the diverse US communities that value and rely upon craigslist.

Note: Our announced intention to contribute 100% of net revenues for the "erotic services" category to charity has been fulfilled, and will continue to be fulfilled, notwithstanding criticism questioning our good faith in this regard. However, in light of today's changes, and to avoid any future misunderstanding, we are making no representation regarding how revenue from the "adult services" category will be used. Our commitment to philanthropy remains however, and craigslist will continue to develop its charitable initiatives.

Craigslist's San Francisco headquarters. The company agrees to remove ads from its erotic-services section.

(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET)

Updated at 9:33 a.m. PT to include a statement from Craigslist and correct an error. See details below.

Craigslist has yielded to law enforcement officials from all over the country, deciding to dismantle its "erotic services" ads.

"As of (Wednesday), for all U.S. Craigslist sites, postings to the erotic-services category will no longer be accepted," the publication said in a statement. "In seven days, the category will be removed. Also effective today for all U.S. sites, a new category entitled 'adult services' will be opened for postings by legal adult service providers.

"Each posting to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site to ensure compliance with Craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5." (To read Craigslist's full statement go here)

For the past several months, authorities have claimed that Craigslist has become a seedy digital street corner where prostitution is rampant.

ABCNews.com is reporting that Craigslist's decision comes after the company's attorneys met with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, as well as with the attorneys general of Connecticut and Missouri. According to an Associated Press report, the states' officials demanded that the site pull ads that they contend are advertisements for illegal sexual activities.

Lawmakers from a number of states have claimed that Craigslist's erotic-services section is a huge Internet bordello, where thousands of people solicit for sex. Law enforcement officials have complained for years that prostitutes are more difficult to apprehend on Craigslist because they are cloaked in the anonymity that that service offers those who post ads.

Craigslist's managers responded to the complaints by trying to create deterrents, such as requiring anyone posting an ad in the erotic-services section to provide a credit card number. They have pointed out in the past that prostitutes don't need the Web publication or its erotic-services section to do business, and they have predicted that doing away with the section will only push people to solicit similarly in the site's other areas.

But Craigslist received some bad press after a woman was murdered and two others were robbed in the Boston area. The alleged killer reportedly found his victims via Craigslist ads, and media outlets began calling him the "Craigslist killer." Police have arrested a suspect in that case.

"Completely contrary to some of the sensationalistic journalism we've seen these past few weeks," Craigslist said in the statement, "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."

Correction: This report misstated the number of recent murder victims in connection with the alleged Boston-area "Craigslist killer." There is reportedly one.

Three state attorneys general and representatives from six other states on Tuesday pressed lawyers from Craigslist to permanently remove the site's erotic services section.

Leading the charge at the closed meeting in Manhattan was Connecticut's top prosecutor, Richard Blumenthal, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace.

"No question, absolutely none, that here," Blumenthal said. "We're going after them to persuade them they ought to do the right thing, cooperate, and eliminate the ads."

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster went further: Craigslist must remove all prostitution ads and pornography or Craigslist executives themselves will be prosecuted.

"It is nothing but filth," McMaster said. "It is advertisement for prostitution. It is ugly. It is harmful."

Can Craigslist be held criminally liable or sued for having illegal ads on its site? Not under current federal law, which grants immunity to sites like Craigslist for posting content it didn't create.

"Congress' rationale, which I think was a good one, that we want to not make illegal content legal or somehow inexcusable but place the onus on the people who are behaving badly in the first place," said Matt Zimmerman, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The pressure on the classified online ad site, which gets 30 million postings a month, has grown in recent weeks after medical student Philip Markoff was accused of robbing two women, and killing another, all of whom he met on Craigslist, and a New York radio reporter was killed by a teenager who allegedly responded to a Craigslist advertisement.

In a statement, Craigslist's CEO Jim Buckmaster said Tuesday's meeting was productive.

"We're optimistic that our shared concerns can be addressed...without compromising the quintessentially American values of free speech embodied in our constitution," Buckmaster said.

In November, Craigslist, at the urging of the states attorneys general, agreed to begin requiring a working phone number, a credit card, and a $5 fee for anyone using the erotic services section.

Blumenthal said that the action hasn't gone far enough and that if Craigslist doesn't respond positively in days, not months, the states' prosecutors will consider trying to change the law or finding another route to legal action against the site.

Three state attorneys general plan to meet with Craigslist representatives to begin negotiations toward eliminating advertisements from the site for prostitution and other suspected illegal sexual activities.

State attorneys general from Missouri, Illinois, and Connecticut will represent a group of state attorneys general in a meeting Tuesday in New York City with representatives of the Web site.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said his office found several ads offering and seeking prostitution on Craigslist pages for the Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia/Jefferson City, and Springfield areas.

"Craigslist is allowing advertisements for illegal activities like prostitution on its site," Koster said a statement. "It is blatant. It is irresponsible. It is illegal."

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster expressed optimism toward the goal of reducing illegal activity on the site but stopped short of discussing the removal of the "erotic services" section.

"Craigslist looks forward to meeting with the attorneys general, and anticipates making further progress toward the common goal of eliminating illegal activity from Craigslist, while preserving its full utility and benefit for tens of millions of law-abiding Americans who value and depend on Craigslist's free local community services in their everyday lives," Buckmaster said in a statement.

The site's erotic services section was thrust into the national spotlight following the arrest last month of Philip H. Markoff, who is suspected of killing a 25-year-old masseuse he met through Craigslist at a Boston hotel. Markoff, a 22-year-old medical student at Boston University, was charged with murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and kidnapping. He is also suspected of attacks on two other escorts at hotels.

However, even before the so-called "Craigslist killing," the site had worked with a group of 40 attorneys general to create new measures on the site designed to thwart ads for prostitution and other illegal sexual activities. Craigslist requires anyone posting ads to the erotic services section to submit an operational phone number and credit card, the site announced last year.

But those measures don't do enough to stem prostitution, according to a federal lawsuit filed in March 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 erotic services section and for $100,000 in compensation for the man-hours the county paid police to investigate alleged criminal services being advertised on the site.

Buckmaster suggested at the time that the suit was a waste of time, saying that "Craigslist cannot be held liable, as a matter of clear federal law, for content submitted to the site by our users." Craigslist announced later that month that ads for such services were down 90 percent to 95 percent during the past 12 months on Craigslist sites that serve five major U.S. cities. However, many CNET News readers suggested that the reduction was due to the ads being relabeled and moved to another section.

While some portray Craigslist as the world's largest bordello, workers in the sex trade say the site helps reduce the risk of violence prostitutes often face.

"Craigslist is important to helping us avoid violence," a 35-year-old sex worker in San Francisco told CNET News last month before the murder in Boston occurred. "Craigslist is a way to filter out that kind of person...and with Craigslist there is no need for pimps."

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."

Craigslist will require anyone posting ads to the Web's site's "erotic services" section to submit a working phone number and credit card, the online classified publication said Thursday.

The new measures are the result of negotiations between Craigslist and 40 state attorneys general and are designed to thwart ads for prostitution and other illegal activities.

San Francisco-based Craigslist has long implemented electronic safeguards to prevent this kind of advertising, but an entire cottage industry has sprung up around selling software and other services that help circumvent the blocks, the company said in a statement.

"These businesses facilitate the placement of ads for illegal services that would otherwise be blocked by Craigslist's protective measures," Craigslist said in the statement.

Craigslist has also agreed to sue 14 of the companies accused of helping illegal advertisers to evade the site's defenses, the company said. The Web's largest classified section is also sending "cease and desist" letters to numerous other companies offering such services.

In March, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal sent Craigslist's management a letter accusing the site of allowing users to post ads for prostitution in violation of its own terms of service. The company says, however, that it has a long history of cooperating with law enforcement and doing everything it can to prevent crime on the site.