Ohio AG pleased Craigslist changed adult-services link

September 6, 2010 at 12:03a.m.

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Ohio’s Attorney General Richard Cordray says he’s pleased that Craigslist apparently shut down its adult-services section, a week and a half after a group of state attorneys general demanded the section be closed.

Craigslist replaced the adult-services section Saturday with a black bar that says “censored.”

Cordray and other state attorneys general have said there weren’t enough protections to block potentially illegal ads that promote prostitution and child trafficking.

The Ohio AG also says there’s more to be done to prevent people from misusing the online service to promote human trafficking.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in a May blog posting that the company’s ads were no worse than those published by the alternative newspaper chain Village Voice Media.

Craiglist’s adult-services section has been shut down in the U.S., but prostitution on the Internet is alive and well — even, quite possibly, on Craigslist.

Users of the website and its CEO grouse that the Internet and other media are still full of outlets where people can find prostitutes. As for the massive online classifieds site itself, many of the personal ads that remain on the site appear to be thinly veiled solicitations of sex for sale.

Like other illegal online activities targeted with prosecution or lawsuits, including gambling, child pornography and unauthorized music downloads, shutting down one outlet simply sends many users running to others.

John Palfrey, a Harvard University law professor and co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, said the move from Craigslist was still a victory because it moved the ads off a highly visible location.

“Will people be able to find these ads online? The answer is almost certainly,” he said.

It’s unclear if the shutdown is permanent. Erotic services ads on non-U.S. sites were still active. Neither Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster nor a company spokeswoman responded to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment Sunday.

Craigslist had tried to police the postings on its adult-services page by requiring all the ads to be vetted and approved.