Craigslist forced to regulate prostitution advertisements

Forced by the arms of the law, Craigslist must take action against the plethora of prostitution ads popping up on its sites.  While preserving the legitimate ads, the classifieds site has vowed to crack down on a variety of less-than-appropriate forms of advertising.

According to the Washington Post, as part of Craigslist’s agreement with attorney generals around the country, anyone who posts an “erotic services” ad will be required to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card. The Web site will provide that information to law enforcement if subpoenaed, though they hope by taking preemptive steps they won’t have to.

Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist’s CEO, said the deal will allow the thousands of legitimate escort services to continue advertising, while providing a strong disincentive to companies that are conducting illegal business.  Will it work?  The company and the law enforcement agencies that are constantly tracking it sure hope so.  “We don’t view it as a penalty, we view it as raising the accountability,” Buckmaster said. “A legitimate business should have no problem with that. They should have no problem providing a phone number or credit card credentials.”

Craigslist has always had problems with tracking illegal and less-than-reputable ads only because of the sheer amount of content flowing through its sites.  Given that fact, Craigslist has always been more than cooperative to law enforcement and others who try and crack down.  Craigslist is taking things into their own hands as well.  The company filed lawsuits this week against 14 software and Internet companies that help people who post erotic service ads to circumvent the Web site’s defenses against inappropriate content and illegal activity.

Craigslist has even talked about possibly putting several verification methods in place to crack down on illegal activity.  “We are experimenting with telephone verification in those sections,” he said. “We don’t have any plans to use credit card verification in those sections currently. But this partnership is going to be active in that area as well, anywhere where crime does or could occur.”

These types of problems will never fully be under control, but its good to see a company the size of Craigslist taking the necessary steps to curb it as much as possible.

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