Legal Newsline - Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says he wants proof that Craigslist has done away with its adult services section for good.
Late Friday, the San Francisco-based online classifieds website placed a black "censored" label on its homepage over the category that various states attorneys general, law enforcement officials and other critics alleged was advertising prostitution online. The action follows a letter sent by 17 attorneys general late last month to Craigslist, requesting that the website remove the adult section.
In a letter sent to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark, Blumenthal mentions a growing amount of prostitution advertisements that are featured on the site.
He said he plans to release a letter to the website's officials asking if they have permanently closed the adult services category. Blumenthal told the Journal that the end of Craigslist's adult services is an "important step" in addressing selling of sex online but "not the end game.
The website's recent move furthers efforts they made in to take more control of the section of the site. Under pressure from 40 state attorneys general, Craigslist began requiring posters to provide a working phone number and pay a fee for placing an ad in what became the adult services section. Several months later, Craigslist adopted a manual screening process in which postings are reviewed before publishing.
