Craigslist as Intermediary Procurer?

There was a time when I recall washing machines in people's homes that still had to be hand-cranked.  Others had electric ones that just needed to be set and forgotten until the bell rang.  Automated teller machines came along shortly after microwave ovens as television remotes, the wired kind, developed at about the same time.  People are simply creative.  Now, in our Electronic Age, we have passive e-pimps such as Craigslist doing what used to be done by fedora-wearing, gold chain emblazoned men on street corners. Perhaps that isn't nearly as damaging as the serious allegations that under-aged children are being sold into sexual service on Craigslist as well.

Seventeen attorneys general from around the country have written to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster, and  founder Craig Newmark (see left), to request the removal of the adult services section on Craigslist.  Three attorneys general have added their voices the letter as well.  This advertising section, it is alleged, permits people to sell their sexual services to adults seeking sex.  The larger problem is that the services of young girls are also trafficked online in this same site.

As long as the internet has been functioning, there have been sexual ads of all types available.  Prostitutes in the guise of masseuses and masseures, escorts, fetishists, and dates, have been promoting their services in a huge variety of sites.  Pimps have been offering their employees' services in the same way.  The difference here is that Craigslist is acting as an intermediary giving tacit approval for these activities through neglect and silence on the matter.  They are not placing the ads, but they are providing the unfettered bulletin board.  The greatest concern is that young girls and boys, under the age of consent, are advertised as commodities for adults' pleasure in these ads.

Prostitution is unseemly, illegal in most places in the country, and for some, a sin.  With that being said, this particular branch of the service industry is flourishing.  Men, who make up what is a lion's share of the customer/john population (why else would they be called, "johns?"), have been using these types of services since time immemorial.  As I was doing online genealogical research for information on San Francisco during the 1870s, I found multiple census postings for "brothel owner" and "prostitute" in the space designated for type of employment.  There is a reason it is called the world's oldest profession.

The real question is, how responsible should Craigslist be for these ads?  The issue is not whether prostitution ads can be found on Craigslist, it is how we, as a society, stop the selling of young girls and boys into illicit service?

Newmark has previously indicated to the press that Craigslist is very responsible when it comes to ads on their service.  They review each ad for appropriateness and remove those that are suspect.  It has been alleged that this has not been done, even to a minimal extent (CNN.com, 2010).   

It is interesting that thus far, the administration at Craigslist has not invoked their First Amendment right of free speech for their clients.  It is likely that this is because they would be defending an illegal activity that is promoted on their site and abhorrant to the general public.  If they had reviewed their ads more effectively to ensure young people are not involved, they might have had a leg to stand on; however, as it is, they simply decided to close that section of the ads.  The adult services section, previously known as erotic services, now has a placard reading "censored."  The censorship, however, is only in the United States since the section is still available in other countries.

Anyone who has ever been on Craigslist knows that they have personal ads, some of which are very graphic.  There is little doubt that these sections will soon be filled with the ads for paid sex, using increasingly subtle language to get their message across. "Generous man sought for enjoyable evening of pleasure with young lovely," may be the language du jour.  Without a large staff dedicated to review each and every ad, this free service will never see a time without prostitution showing up in amongst their ads.  To avoid being closed down all together, they may want to take this issue much more seriously because beyond their business concerns, our children are being sold to profit adults who have no regard for the health and safety of our children.  Does Craigslist really want to be painted with this same brush, too?
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References: 

CNN Wire Staff (2010) "Critic praises Craigslist move to censor ads, calls for more info." CNN.com Justice. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/05/craigslist.censored/index.html

Scaryforkids.com (2010) [Frightened teen girl] http://www.scaryforkids.com/. Photograph. Retrieved from http://www.scaryforkids.com/pics/babysitter.jpg

SFGate.com (2010) [Censored Adult Services] sfgate.com. Digital Photograph.  Retrieved from http://imgs.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/techchron/2010/09/03/CraigslistCensored.jpg

SFGate.com (2009) [Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster in front of Craigslist.org] SFGate.com. Photograph. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/techchron/2009/03/20/Craigslist_EBay-