From Politico Playbook by Mike Allen. Note to readers, I haven’t investigated this story myself; this is from a source I’ve found to be reliable and is intended as a conversation starter. Clearly, these listings — originally intended for ‘solo practitioner’ sexworkers — were being used by larger, more organized operations. But it would seem that CL did little to help mitigate problems. The issue takes us to the slippery razor’s edge of how to balance the Constitutional guarantee that the government will not interfere with the media, and the social responsibility connected with free speech. One problem is that various bans on prostitution have never worked, and never will; nor will banning the listings. Somebody else will take the business. But then, in the most elemental terms, sex trafficking is always matter of supply and demand. –ef
Why Craigslist is suddenly abandoning its lucrative “adult services” ads, which created a market for exploitation of young girls – And the coming role for Congress: On Friday night, the online classified behemoth dropped a black “censored” bar over its adult services listings, and a top legal source tells Playbook that indications are that Craigslist plans to discontinue that part of the site permanently.
The N.Y. Times reported in April: “The ads, many of which blatantly advertise prostitution, are expected to bring $36 million this year.” The raunchy ads empowered pimps, who could post the location of a hotel room on Craigslist, then wait for a string of customers to come have inexpensive sex with underage girls who were working against their will.
Despite repeated complaints from law enforcement and state authorities, Craigslist officials had been recalcitrant about making changes, for both financial and philosophical reasons. This weekend’s turnaround resulted from a quiet, low-budget synthesis of GOVERNMENT, MEDIA, CELEBRITIES and ADVOCACY GROUPS – a textbook pressure campaign that defeated an Internet powerhouse.
In May, The Rebecca Project for Human Rights and the Demi Ashton Foundation held a briefing on Capitol Hill – “Domestic Sex Trafficking of Children,” moderated by CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux – with girls who had been Craigslist victims telling their stories in public. Demi Moore talked with the girls, met with House and Senate members, then went to the White House to make her case to senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. (David Axelrod dropped in.) Attorney General Eric Holder also was briefed on the issue.
In August, CNN’s Anderson Cooper put Craigslist on the spot with an “AC360° investigation,” with the ambush video getting repeated airings on air and online. On Aug. 24, 17 state attorneys general wrote to Craigslist, calling for the adult section to be shut down: “The increasingly sharp public criticism of Craigslist’s Adult Services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution – including ads trafficking children – are rampant on it.”
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D), who has been pursuing Craigslist for years, told us in a telephone interview as he shuttled between fairs in the Nutmeg State: “This action almost certainly resulted from a combination of [human trafficking] groups [and] recent tragic criminal actions. Craigslist has been enabling criminal activity The sense of growing public outrage has been a building force. At the outset, [Craigslist was] much more responsive than they have been more recently. I think they’ve been resistant, first, because of the culture; perhaps because of the financial stakes; and maybe there’s something personal about it. Maybe they feel that they should have complete freedom to do whatever they like with the site.
“One of the key issues here is how much accountability they really have, in legal terms. They maintain that the [federal Communications] Decency Act [of 1996] gives them virtually complete immunity from any kind of accountability, legally. And one of the key points that I’ve argued is: We need to change that federal law, to hold these sites accountable This law that dates from the earliest period of the Internet is out of date.”
mercury poking your uranus….hypnotic, you’re hot on the tail of something!
or maybe, its just mercury poking my uranus….
Wikileakes in the same vein, really? Exposing secrets, underground information, and publishing it on the the free internet? And then the founder gets harassed on rape charges (pluto much?). Im reeeeeeeel new to this , but Im seeing an interesting trend…
T-Square Much? Saturn (stern authority) square Pluto (underground, detectives) square Jupiter (exaggerating, publicizing) conj. Uranus (technology).
So much craziness is going on this year in the world that relates to astrology, but this one really takes the cake…. (no pun intended)
The occasional offer to give sex came through the CL Adult ads when I posted for acting or modeling talent. But mostly just what I asked for – actors who were willing to unbutton at least their top button. It’s amazing how “prudish” wannabe talent is ‘these days’. CL Adult was a place where those with more liberal mindedness could look and find.
As for Bondage, Porn etc, thankfully I’ve my own circle of friends to look to – cultivated over time – so trust on many levels is there (in particular higher chance of reliabilty, no drug use, etc.)
I’d love to see a battle re: censorship taking place over this.
I’ve had some amazing experiences with Craigslist personals. I used to call it Craig’s Wish List. I didn’t use the Adult Services listings much – once that I can think of, in France, I engaged a dominatrix to visit me in my Paris apartment. We had fun; she became a Book of Blue model, and we became friends.
Most of the others were on the regular personals, either MM or MF. (Here is one.) It works better in a big city; the Hudson Valley Craigslist is pretty quiet. As the years have gone on people have become more flag-happy; I have a female friend locally who recently posted looking for a female masturbation partner and the listing got flagged.
This reminds me how helpful it is if we agree to hold the reality field open for one another. We can all get what we need and want, and the abstainers can get their abstention. It would help if we could establish a truly libertarian ethic of do what you want as long as it does not harm others. Yet I’m also cautious of what we want others to ‘allow’ us to do, because all that allowing echoes back to early authority figure stuff, and to the inner control dramas of guilt and shame.
There is a lot to be said for not worrying what anyone thinks. In the end, people have to deal with who we are, or we have to fake being someone else; the reality takeover may as well start sooner rather than later, since it is inevitable and a lot more fun. And I am beginning to figure out that all the worry what others think stuff is a projection of our dance with or struggle with self-allowing; of the full admission and acknowledgment of one’s existence.
BTW, its hard enough (as I anticipate e. can testify) to use words like “nude”, “sex-y”, “erotic” etc on the internet.
I had MySpace page shut down years ago because I posted one of my paintings titled “Not Nude” (with site/page set to “private” no less.).
What a mess we are in.
I wonder if any of the Craigslist antagonists are voicing their opinion on the Organic Farming attack going on? Seems to be way way more “important” if we have to pick and choose our battles right now (which we do not). Like, let’s start with being healthy in body so our minds can function?
(re: S.510)
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4613
Craigslist Adult Ads were also used responsibly by countless numbers, self included. It has been a wonderful resource for finding talent that was willing to actually act “sexy” and/or take clothes off for video and photo – unlike ‘regular’ “talent” ads which instantly peg an advertiser as “predator” if something like NUDITY or EROTIC is mentioned.
Sadly actual predators also used CL. But where do abusers, con-people, and manipulators NOT roam?
I say we close down all business in the USA until crime is eradicated.
In the early 1980s there was the “congressional page sex scandal.” This wikipedia entry tells you about 1% of the story. It went on and on for months — with ever more glaring, verging on hilarious antics of sexual anarchy between senators, representatives and their pages. So that gives you a glimpse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_congressional_page_sex_scandal
Morality says “don’t cross these lines” and the law says “cross these lines and you will face sanction”. Ergo the law is designed for moral people who won’t tend to break the law in the first place. It generally sucks however, for the crafty immoral types who know how to play the pragmatic cards.
In addition, one has to wonder why busts didn’t take place pro-actively as a deterrent? Could it be that the exploitation of young girls is something that certain powerful people in high places like to moralise about (smokescreen), but have nonetheless enjoyed in practice? Just a thought..
Indeed, maybe if CL now winds up this section, it might truly be because a real power player had their own agenda – but we think it was collaboration and people power – stranger things have happened..
The modus operandi of the psychopath are all thriving in the murky chasm between morality and law enforcement. We all know morality is an intrinsically meaningless conceptuality-construct – except most of us nonetheless follow a morality-consciousness. So law enforcement will generally not be required. Law enforcement does not implement a moral code; it cites one when it suits.
Once people get into technicalities and layers of complexity, pragmatism dictates and then you are into the territory of power and privilege i.e. who is affected and has the power and desire to bring about change – usually that is nobody who doesn’t stand to gain in some way.
The only crime in the world of the corrupt person without decent ethics is getting caught. Once any issue is anything but straightforward, inertia sets in and morality is seen for what it is – a pipe dream. And this is why those without conscience will always thrive.. Most of us use labels to navigate the world. Psychopaths ignore them and so only the ones of limited intelligence and social position get caught.