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."
U.S. courts have repeatedly ruled that online service providers such as Craigslist aren't liable for postings made by their users...
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, one of the 17 attorneys general who pressed for the change...
If Craigslist has left the adult services business for good, it won't likely diminish the online market for sex acts, said Steve Jones, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois in Chicago who has studied Internet culture.
Comments:
First: "If Craigslist has left the adult services business for good, it won't likely diminish the online market for sex acts, said Steve Jones, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois in Chicago who has studied Internet culture." To blame Craigslist is like blaming AOL chat rooms of the 90s, or Myspace (or others). It shows that someone's trying to make a name for their self, at the expense of an otherwise legit site.
Notice how in the article, there is no reference to this, or other cases, where Craigslist works WITH law enforcement, to CAPTURE the criminals. Clearly, only one side of the story is being shown!
What goes on, between two consulting adults, is no one else's business! It doesn't matter if it is two straight people, or two gay, as long as what they're doing isn't being harmful to others in the community. This is just another group of prejudices being allowed to run wild, because no one is calling them out, and telling the other side.
According to a worker's blog (came up when was trying to find more information on this): "Sites like this (Craigslist) allows the worker to find clients safely, without the abuse of pimps, and many other dangers that exist on the street...now, they will have to go back into those dangers...Craigslist provided a safe buffer.
What really sickens me is that I've seen petitions on sites like Change.org, talking about how Craigs, and a similar site, Backpage.com, play a huge role in various levels of human trafficking. Those cases are few and far between. I have talked with a lot of people, across the US, and around the world, who have used Craigslist and similar sites. As I said, I don't judge, and what goes between two consulting adults is up to them. I'm not saying these things do not exist, but again, it's wrong and irresponsible to place these sites as the sole, or a major source, of these crimes. There are a lot of places far worse to hit, than these sites. It just so happens that since the actual crime rings are a lot harder to nail, and so in order to show the public that they are doing something, web sites that have very little to do with these crimes become scape goats.
I think that people need to contact both their state and federal Congressmen, and demand the resignation or termination of these "attorney generals." Instead of going after the real criminals, they are attacking easy targets that have very little to do with the crimes in question. Moreso, by attacking such sites, they are violating these individuals First Amendment Rights. There are already some cases where public libraries are denying the promotion of the gay community. Now, legit businesses are being denied opportunities. If no one else wants to take up the issue for the other side, I guess I'll start!
Just pick the state you're from, and you will receive their Senate Address, phone number, and contact form. I also suggest, once you have their names, to search their names on the web, to go to their OFFICIAL website, and contact them there, but if nothing else, at least on the above link.
If you don't know who your Rep is, go to www.house.gov/ and enter your zip in the upper left "find your Rep" box. As above, I highly suggest you also find their OFFICIAL website, and contact them there, but if nothing else, at least on the above link.
I also suggest writing to your STATE senators and Congressmen. Do a search for "list of (your) state senators," and "list of (your) state representatives."
Tell them the following, or better yet, find your own words! The first line can be your subject, and you can copy-paste it into your email!
Attorney Generals Need to BACK OFF!
Dear :
I am writing to you, with my feelings that the Attorney Generals Need to BACK OFF, in particular, their harassment of Craigslist. First of all, U.S. courts have repeatedly ruled that online service providers such as Craigslist aren't liable for postings made by their users.
If Craigslist has left the adult services business for good, it won't likely diminish the online market for sex acts, said Steve Jones, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois in Chicago who has studied Internet culture. To blame Craigslist is like blaming AOL chat rooms of the 90s, or Myspace (or others). It shows that someone's trying to make a name for their self, at the expense of an otherwise legit site.
In a similar vain, it's wrong and irresponsible to place these sites as the sole, or a major source, of crimes like this, or human trafficking. It just so happens that since the actual crime rings are a lot harder to nail, and so in order to show the public that they are doing something, web sites that have very little to do with these crimes become scape goats.
I demand the resignation or termination of these attorney generals. Instead of going after the real criminals, they are attacking easy targets that have very little to do with the crimes in question. Moreso, by attacking such sites, they are violating these individuals First Amendment Rights, and for such an abuse of power, an equally strong action must be taken in response.
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