Popular classified-ad Web site Craigslist.com faces a battle with the Cook County, Illinois, sheriff’s department. Sheriff Thomas Dart says the Web site’s “Erotic Services” section is being used for prostitution and he wants it shut down.
Along with classified ads for baby furniture, toys and comic books is a list of services for sale. That list includes beauty, legal and therapeutic services along with one that stands out — escort services.
Dart’s office is suing Craigslist and seeking $100,000 spent on investigating the Web site.
Craigslist last year began charging for ads listed under “Erotic Services.” The proceeds from those ads are donated to charities. Craigslist also lets users flag inappropriate ads for removal.
“Misuse of Craigslist to facilitate criminal activity is unacceptable, and we continue to work diligently to prevent it,” Craigslist spokesperson Susan MacTavish Best said. “Misuse of the site is exceptionally rare compared to how much the site is used for legal purposes. Regardless, any misuse of the site is not tolerated on Craigslist.”
A year ago Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked Craigslist to shut down the escort-services ads after a Connecticut woman was arrested for using the service for prostitution. As a result, Craigslist began requiring users to provide a phone number.
“Craigslist is providing an interactive computer service, and as such is protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act,” said Brock Meeks, spokesperson for the Center for Democracy and Technology. “This provision essentially says that a service like Craigslist can’t be treated as a publisher or speaker of any information put there by a user. So Craigslist isn’t responsible for the content that users put on its site. That said, Craigslist has worked with law enforcement and toughened up the procedures — require name and valid credit card — required for putting…