Craigslist prostitution

It’s the latest trick of the trade for prostitutes across the country and even here in the heart of the Lowcountry.

Ladies of the night have stepped off the corner and onto the internet.

Due to the nature of the crime and the graphic images on the website, this special report is intended for adults.

Click the Video Tab to see that story.

Response from Craigslist:

Q: Why does craigslist have an "erotic services" category?
  A: It was established at the request of craigslist users, who were tired of seeing escort services and sensual massage providers posting in the regular personals and services categories.

Q: Are "erotic services" ads unique to craigslist, or are they common to most classified services?
  A: Newspaper classifieds, alternative weeklies, and the telephone yellow pages have featured escort and sensual massage ads similar to those on craigslist for several decades, with 2 significant differences:

 
1. craigslist derives no revenue from "erotic services", while newspapers and yellow pages have made an extremely profitable business out of them.
 
2. craigslist provides a flagging system whereby ads deemed inappropriate can be removed, whereas inappropriate print ads cannot be removed.

Q: What measures has craigslist taken to minimize the misuse of the site for illegal activities?
  A: Here are some of the measures we take, many of which are absent from newspaper classifieds and telephone yellow pages:

 
1. We ban all illegal activity in our Terms of Use
 
2. We place prominent notices on our posting forms warning against illegal activity
 
3. We provide a community moderation system whereby our users flag inappropriate ads for removal
 
4. We place prominent notices asking users to flag inappropriate ads
 
5. We remove inappropriate ads that are brought to our attention
 
6. We prohibit the use of all adult-oriented categories by persons under the age of 18
 
7. We place notices encouraging users to report any suspected abuse of minors
 
8. We block persons violating our Terms of Use from posting
 
9. We respond promptly to inquiries and requests for assistance from law enforcement officers
 
10. We give periodic briefings for groups of law enforcement officers on how to efficiently obtain information from craigslist.

Q: Why don’t craigslist staff manually review each and every free posting to make sure no one misuses the site?
A: Craigslist is a community-moderated site, and while we have neither the capacity nor the obligation to manually review each of the more than 30 million free postings submitted each month, craigslist users are empowered to remove problematic postings themselves, and staff do remove prohibited content when brought to our attention. Compare this to newspapers classifieds and yellow pages where once distributed, problematic ads cannot be removed.

Q: How does craigslist feel about this category from a moral perspective?
A: Illegal activity is not welcome, but where legal conduct between consenting adults is concerned we feel it is important to err on the side of respecting first amendment and privacy rights, and to leave moral judgements to the greater wisdom of the craigslist community, who are empowered through our flagging system.

Q: Does craigslist cooperate with law enforcment investigations?
A: Yes. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from law enforcement and DA offices over the years for being especially prompt and cooperative in responding to their inquiries - we do not want illegal activities on craigslist, and are more than willing to assist law enforcement in their efforts.

Q: Children aren’t physically prevented from accessing craigslist, doesn’t that mean all adult content should be eliminated?
A: Craigslist is not designed for use by children, and in fact is not intended for use by persons under age 18. Even so, we do place warning screens in front of categories where adult content is likely to be found - unlike newspapers classifieds and telephone yellow pages, which lack this protection for their "erotic service" content, even though these publications are intended for all ages.