From Streetcorners to Craigslist....

As if Craigslist isn’t sketchy enough. Apparently they have an adult services section on their site which according to CNN Wire staff, Craigslist has finally made moves to monitor the interactions on its site by “censoring” this section of their site. Craigslist has been accused of promoting prostitution via from their website due to this particular section. "These prostitution ads enable human trafficking and assaults on women," claims Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who “spearheaded a recent letter from 17 attorneys general urging Craigslist to discontinue its adult services section”(CNN Wire staff).
I think this is very important seeing as Craigslist is a pretty popular website and there have been quite a few attacks and even murders in the past year having to do with encounters arranged via ad’s placed on craigslist’s adult services section. For example the infamous, Craigslist killer case covered by CBN in September 2009 having to do with a young man named Phillip Markoff, who basically went on a seven day killing spree. He would meet the prostitutes/escorts from the craigslist ads in hotels or motels, attack them, rob them, and eventually killed one of the three women he had attacked.
This story alone gives reason for further investigation on why and how Craigslist as well as other major sites should be more careful and somehow have more censorship in sections that deal with such matters, seeing as prostitution is perfectly illegal in the U.S. except for in specific areas in the state of Nevada. I found it interesting that in today’s society we can hold Craigslist a bit more accountable for allowing itself to be so easily accessible to such activities, and yet we would never hold any specific street in the infamous red districts of the U.S. accountable for the same sort of accessibility.
What do you think?

Aisha

sources:

CNN Wire Staff, . "Critic praises Craigslist move to censor ads, calls for more info." CNN Justice. CNN, 06 Sept 2010. Web. 7 Sep 2010. .

"The Craigslist Killer: Seven Days of Rag." 48 Hours Mystery. CBN NEws, 10 July 2010. Web. 7 Sep 2010. .