Craigslist ‘adult services’ gone for good?

It appears that Craigslist has finally bowed to intense pressure and got rid of its controversial ‘Adult Services’ section. Whether the self-imposed censorship will last is unclear, however.

Craigslist has always had an element of adult or erotic services. It’s only to be expected with a site which allows the public to sell their wares. If those wares happen to have a sexual overtone then so be it. For a time the adult stuff appeared all across the site, mixed in with other ads in all sections. So in order to clean everything up a little, Craigslist created a new ‘Erotic Services’ section just for the more risqué ads.

Unfortunately, this raised the ire of the authorities and do-gooders who accused Craigslist of profiting from illegal activity such as prostitution. Craigslist responded – to this and the so-called Craigslist murder case – by changing the section name to ‘Adult Services’, moderating all ads, and ensuring that everyone placing the adverts had up-to-date contact details.

Not good enough for some, with 17 U.S. state attorneys recently calling for the section to be closed completely due to it helping facilitate human trafficking.

On Friday Craigslist appeared to comply with this command, with the ‘Adult Services’ section replaced by a ‘Censored’ banner. Only the U.S. site has been affected, with every other country retaining its adult section. The ‘Censored’ banner appeared without warning and with no official statement being made. And Craigslist has so far refused to comment.

So what’s going on?

If it’s taken on face value then the ‘Adult Services’ section has been removed for good, probably to avoid any messy and potentially very costly legal battles over its existence. But there’s another possibility, which is that this is an effort by Craigslist to gain publicity and sympathy for its plight in the face of such high-level negative attention.

If that is the case then it’s a risky move from Craigslist as it could lead to even more negative reaction to that part of its business. Personally I think Craigslist should just carry on as is because it does have the law on its side.

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• Craigslist Adult Services no longer ‘Censored’, now removed completely
• Craigslist: ‘Adult Services’ not returning
• Craigslist shuts Adult Services worldwide
• Craigslist sex case goes global
• Craigslist bows to pressure, cleans up adult content