Today’s big news: Craigslist ‘erotic services’ compromise, changes ahead

It’s interesting to read all the news stories about what happened with Craigslist’s ‘Erotic Services’ category today; the overwhelming message is that CL “caved” to pressure to shut down its category altogether. Whether this is an accurate flavor of the story or not, CL did indeed decide to close that pay-for-play section of its websites *nationally* (in 7 days) — and one underreported fact is that the credit card verification system and fees generated charity donations. But it’s not actually over and done. There’s a great, very complete article about it on Ars Technica by Jacqui Cheng that recognizes the realities of eliminating a controlled environment for sex work. It’s a must-read. In the update, Cheng points us to the CL blog’s official statement posted at noon PST which has all the facts to satisfy. Here’s a snip from the official statement:

As of today for all US craigslist sites, postings to the “erotic services” category will no longer be accepted, and in 7 days the category will be removed.

Also effective today for all US sites, a new category entitled “adult services” will be opened for postings by legal adult service providers. Each posting to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site, to ensure compliance with craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5.

Unsurprisingly, but completely contrary to some of the sensationalistic journalism we’ve seen these past few weeks, the record is clear that use of craigslist classifieds is associated with far lower rates of violent crime than print classifieds, let alone rates of violent crime pertaining to American society as a whole.

The relative safety of craigslist compared to print classifieds is likely due to some combination of:

* Measures such as blocking, screening, and telephone verification
* Community moderation via our flagging system
* Electronic trail ensures violent criminals are quickly caught
* Personal safety tips prominently posted
* Unusually high level of cooperation with law enforcement

Community moderation as exemplified by our flagging system is arguably the most successful system ever conceived for eliminating inappropriate activity from a massive internet community. Working in tandem with various other protective technologies, it is an inescapable force to be reckoned with for anyone set on abusing free internet communications across a broad array of posting types. (…read more, blog.craigslist.org)

Update: see also, another essential side of this conversation – The Male Madam: “Craigslist Was An Amateur Hot Dog Stand” (thesword.com).

Update 2: Press release and statement from (mostly) NY-based sex worker organizations about what happened today – “Erotic Services” Denied: Craigslist and Attorneys General Are Putting Sex Workers At Risk (wakingvixen.com)

Image by Richard Kadrey.