By Sellputs
To take down its internet brothel known as "adult services" after mounting pressure from police agencies. The section has been an active medium for prostitution for years, the full censoring move comes after Craigslist recently changed "erotic services" section in to "adult services".(AP writes) "The listings came under new scrutiny after the jailhouse suicide last month of a former medical student who was awaiting trial in the killing of a masseuse he met through Craigslist, a popular site that lets users post classified ads, often for free.
Craigslist's adult services section carried ads for everything from personal massages to a night's companionship, which critics say veered into prostitution.
Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in a May blog posting that the company's ads were no worse than those published by the alternative newspaper chain Village Voice Media. He cited one explicit ad which included the phrase: "anything goes $90."
Craigslist has been caught for years in a murky legal fight that centers on how much responsibility the company bears for its ads, said Jonathan Zittrain, professor of law and computer science at Harvard University.
Prosecutors can argue Craigslist is an "intermediary" to the crime of prostitution, Zittrain said, but such cases are hard to prove. He said prosecutors must essentially prove that Craigslist knew an ad was a solicitation for prostitution; ads on Craigslist are typically worded more vaguely."
