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Attorneys general in 40 states, led by Connecticut’s own Richard Blumenthal, sent a letter to Craigslist “demanding that it purge the site of such material and better enforce its own rules against illegal activity, including prostitution,” according to the NY Times. Craigslist has responded and will vamp up activities to decrease illegal activity on their site. The agreement reached between Craigslist and the attorneys general was also supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (WCBSTV). “Craigslist has also agreed to sue 14 software and Internet companies that help people who post erotic service ads circumvent the Web site’s defenses against inappropriate content and illegal activity.[...] Craigslist will also begin using new search technology in an effort to help authorities find missing children and victims of human trafficking” (Hartford Courant). According to CNET, “…Craigslist has long implemented electronic safeguards to prevent” advertising prostitution services, “…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.”

This news about Craigslist is good news on several fronts: first, it will prevent children from accessing adult material (Government Technology); it will potentially reduce the number of adult women being exploited on Craigslist; and it will reduce the number of children being sold for sex on the site. Children’s advocates have long cited the growth of the internet as a source in the boon of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) through selling children for sex and child pornography, especially.  The site will also begin deploying “search technology that it developed to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcement agencies in identifying missing persons, children and victims of human trafficking” (Government Technology). It is unclear at this point what that technology is.

In March, Craigslist began asking “erotic services advertisers to provide a phone number, which an automated system calls. The system reads a series of digits, which the advertiser types into a Web page as verification before the ad will appear on the site. Craigslist said that ended most of the illicit material.” However, the chief executive of Craigslist, Jim Buckmaster, said about ads that were shown to them by the attorneys general that “[T]hey identified ads that were crossing the line….We looked at those ads, we saw their point, and we resolved to see what we could do to get that stuff off the site.” Based on the fact that they did not “see” the problem until outside observers showed them problematic ads, it is doubtful that they knew what the problems had been, to measure whether the problems had improved (NY Times, Craigslist Agrees to Curb Sex Ads). However, Paid Content points out that there has been an “80 percent reduction in ad volume, and significantly increased compliance with site guidelines.” Paid Content did not cite the source for these statistics.

The new system that Craigslist will be implementing (no beginning date has been identified) will require erotic services advertisers to provide a credit card, which will serve three purposes: to verify identification of the payee; to charge for posting (the proceeds of which will go toward charities that combat the sexual exploitation of children, according to the NY Times); and to enable law enforcement to make arrests of posters that violate federal or state law.

The Improper, which serves as a news site for the sex industry, believes that the policy will move prostitution back to “streets, hotels, bars and other public areas that will be far more of a nuisance than Craigslist.” Advocates for children that are concerned about increased CSEC, as well as Commercial Sexual Exploitation of women and men on Craigslist, point out that part of the problem now is that the prostitution of women and children is out of the open where nobody can see and assist victims. The Improper also points out that “Craigslist was a viable way to bring together buyers and sellers without the need for pimps or professional prostitution services, which are often far more exploitive and dangerous.” However, children’s advocates believe pimps are still involved and exploitation does still occur. Pimping is a lucrative business - why would pimps settle for being taken out of the picture?

This whole issue highlights the larger issue of how to continue to use the internet for good while at the same time protecting those who are victimized through it. The freedom of speech is important, but so is protecting children and protecting our ability to make positive changes in the world through the internet. There is great amount of disagreement as how to best address the problem of the exploitation of people through the internet, though with the increased exploitation of children, especially, it is clear that the different sides need to continue to work towards an agreeable solution.

Craigslist says “…that it has a long history of cooperating with law enforcement and doing everything it can to prevent crime on the site” (CNET). Their actions in this matter prove this to be true.