SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Despite repeated lawsuits, deals with state attorneys general and saber-rattling by politicians and law enforcement, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said he has no plans to shutter the “Erotic Services” section of the popular online classified ads venue.Newmark told ABC News he disagrees with assertions Craigslist facilitates prostitution and other illegal activities. He also said the website has instituted a number of safeguards and processes to protect users from each other and to allow the Craigslist community to police itself. Those measures, Newmark said, precipitated a 95-percent drop in adult-services listings since January.
Among the changes are requirements that all erotic services ads be verified by phone and authorized by a nominal credit card charge of $5 to $10.
Nevertheless, public officials continue to call for more changes at Craigslist. In March the site was slapped with a federal lawsuit in which the Cook County, IL, sheriff demands the removal of the Erotic Services section. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal also wants the section removed unless Craigslist disallows photos in the ads, hires additional staff to screen postings, raises the fees it charges for Erotic Services advertisements, blocks search terms that might indicate adult entertainment and financially rewards users for informing on potentially offensive or dangerous ads.
Now a group of civilians has organized a boycott of Craigslist with the goal of forcing the closure of the embattled section. According to boycott leader Jennifer Williams, “If we reach at least 500,000 people, then Craigslist closes down the Erotic Services section and bans all erotic service ads from their site.”
The boycott’s mission, according to a posting on its Web page at ThePoint.com (TinyURL.com/cef5ys), is “to strongly encourage Craigslist to close down sections of their site that are known to frequently feature ads for illegal activities, particularly the Erotic Services section, through the non-violent mechanism of boycotting. We, as a collective voice and through the use of our ‘dollar-vote,’ are choosing to support other similar communities who take more effort to foster an environment where crime is discouraged, rather than condoned through feigned ignorance and turning a blind eye.”
Between April 23rd and 30th, the boycott garnered the support of 70 people.
Another Web-based effort to effect change at Craigslist is underway at FlagCraigslist.Webs.com. There, a consumer who admits he enjoys Craigslist and uses the site frequently urges “like minded friends, neighbors and other concerned citizens” to engage in a campaign of relentless flagging of ads that concern them in an effort to force Craigslist to remove the ads.
Even he admits, though, change is difficult to shape.
“Craigslist’s success is dependent upon the public’s use of it,” the site’s anonymous owner posted to the homepage. “As a regular user of Craigslist, I … think it is a useful public service. However, last year friends and I came upon ads in the ‘personals’ section where an ‘older’ male posted erotic photos of himself and was soliciting to anyone ‘17 and older’ (same sex) while he was in town on business — giving directions to his room at the local Holiday Inn Express. We flagged his post, but it continued to reappear.”
Following a high-profile murder that has come to be known as the “Craigslist murder” because the alleged killer found his victim through her ad in the Erotic Services section of the site, Craigslist Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckmaster admitted on the company’s blog the company is investigating more ways to ensure users remain safe despite themselves.
“Craigslist intends to play an ever-larger leadership role with respect to internet safety and security, and we invite and appreciate any and all input,” Buckmaster wrote.
He did not say what additional measures are under consideration or when they may be implemented.
