Craigslist clampdown leaves door open for sex ads

States considering legal action as Web site tightens policies

Thursday, July 30, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

A mobile billboard advertising "adult entertainers" passes by MGM Mirage's CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip on Friday, March 6, 2009.

Craigslist -- Las Vegas

Hawking erotic services? Craigslist now has your number (11-29-09)

Sex sells in Las Vegas, a city where erotic catalogs sit side-by-side with newspaper racks and billboards roll along city streets advertising adult services.

But what has officials from many states atwitter is the sale of adult services online, particularly on the Web site of San Francisco-based Craigslist.

About 40 states are considering legal action against Craigslist for the sale of adult services in the site's online classifieds.

A spokeswoman for Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said state officials are awaiting an update on the case.

Despite the more stringent guidelines the company has in place to eliminate ads posted by prostitutes, officials say sex is still for sale on the Internet.

A coalition of 40 attorneys general is saying little about what any legal action might look like. The Connecticut attorney general's office is leading the effort.

Fee emerges, graphic images pulled

After a Boston-area man was accused in April of fatally shooting a woman who placed an ad on Craigslist, the site promised to rid itself of prostitution ads. The same man has been accused in the armed robbery of a Las Vegas woman in a Rhode Island hotel room. That woman also posted an ad on Craigslist.

It was the second time in recent months Craigslist tightened up its protocols.

Responding to criticism, the site began requiring a $10 fee paid by credit card and replaced its “erotic services” category with “adult services.” That section of the site, like the rest of Craigslist, can only be used to advertise legal services, the company says.

It also says ads that suggest or imply "an exchange of sexual favors for money are strictly prohibited."

Craigslist now prescreens all ads posted in the adult category and prohibits graphic images. The company points out that some other sites offering online classifieds don't have screening standards.

"Many prominent companies, including AT&T, Microsoft, and Village Voice Media, not to mention major newspapers ... feature more 'adult services' ads than does craigslist, some of a very graphic nature," Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster wrote on his blog in May.

Craigslist, law enforcement join forces

In November, months before the publicity stemming from the Boston attacks, the Web site and more than 40 states entered into a partnership to go after prostitution, human trafficking, child exploitation and other illegal activities. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and state law enforcement agencies also joined in the partnership.

At the time, Craigslist referred to the changes, intended to prevent illegal activity and improve safety, as “sweeping.” The site acknowledged it had filed 14 lawsuits against companies misusing its site.

Craigslist agreed to provide information to state attorneys general to aid in prosecutions. It also enacted a system to block inappropriate posts and offered a method for users to flag inappropriate posts for review. It updated its software to facilitate parental screening for adult content, imposed a $10 fee and implemented a telephone verification system for erotic ads.

Catherine Cortez Masto

Masto signed onto the joint agreement Craigslist created in November to police itself.

Craigslist agreed to "meet on a regular basis with the attorneys general to discuss additional ways to fight inappropriate content and making the site safer," according to a copy of the agreement supplied by Masto's office.

"Craigslist created its erotic services section because prostitutes were placing ads on other parts of the site. Allowing the erotic services to continue keeps such ads segregated, while making it easier for law enforcement to monitor and crack down on Internet-based prostitution, human trafficking and child exploitation," the agreement said.

But even recently with new rules in place, attorneys general have been disturbed by the content of some ads.

"They are so thinly disguised, the real question is, how they are permitted to be there if, in fact, the site is doing the screening and policing that they said they will do," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told the Associated Press this past weekend.

Blumenthal spearheaded the November effort, too.

No worse than Vegas phone book ads?

Local attorneys say using legal means to regulate the ads likely won't pass muster in Clark County because that could constitute an infringement on free speech.

In saying that legal action likely wouldn’t stick in Las Vegas, both the Nevada Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Clark County District Attorney’s Office pointed to the years-long court battle over handbilling on the Strip.

A look at the Las Vegas adult services section on Craigslist yields numerous ads that don't differ much from what's offered for sale in the open on billboards, on business cards advertising escorts peddled along the Strip, even in the Yellow Pages.

"I'm not sure that Craigslist ... is any worse than the phone book," Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Bloxham said.

He said he hadn't personally seen the online ads.

A glance at the site earlier this week showed the following:

- Mel, a "busty British brunette," offers "an accent so sexy it will make you weak in the knees." Her services are billed at $200 an hour, all-inclusive.

- Trent, a "handsome Italian jock," offers up spa-like, relaxing massage services with "strong body contact." Potential customers have to text him on his Southern California cell phone for rates.

- Veronica says she offers "the best in nude, erotic massage" and says her husband is available for a four-handed massage. Her services are offered "in-call only," and like many others, she doesn't accept blocked calls.

A trip through the "entertainers" listings in a Las Vegas phone book yields page after page of full-page ads that offer everything from "real college girls who strip for extra credit" to "beautiful soccer moms," "Asian centerfolds" and "naughty room service." Most of the ads tout "full service," a phrase, Bloxham said is open to interpretation.

"The ads (in the phone book) are pretty explicit," Bloxhom said. "If I'm trying to, say, find my local Boy Scout office, it might fall open to these pages. What one person considers to be appropriate, another person can find highly offensive."

Bloxham said that while the district attorney's office has in the past tried to prosecute cases involving explicit advertisements -- notably, the saucy handbills slapped into the palms of tourists along the Strip -- the efforts have been trumped by free speech laws.

But, he noted, when it comes to the ads on Craigslist, people are seeking them out.

"The cards ... they hand them to men holding hands with ladies. It's so brazen; it's so offensive," he said.

Brazen and offensive to some, perhaps. But, thanks to the First Amendment, the practice isn’t going away, he said.

Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the ACLU of Nevada, agreed.

"As a general rule, it's protected speech," he said. As for Craigslist: “Unless there is evidence of any particular ad where Craigslist knows or has reason to know -- not speculate, but know -- that it is in fact for an illegal activity, it is protected speech.”

Craigslist, or listing elsewhere

With its new rules in place, Craigslist is collecting credit card information from its customers for adult postings, thereby making them traceable to law enforcement.

Bluxhom said he didn’t know whether credit card data was being used in Las Vegas to link alleged prostitutes to criminal acts. He said law enforcement does use ads to set up meetings with suspected prostitutes, and any additional evidence that Craigslist might provide would be a boost when it came time to prosecute.

That's a notion that has a local advocate for sex workers upset.

Susan Lopez, founder and director of the Sin City Alternative Professionals’ Association, said the valley's sex workers who advertise on Craigslist are generally those who are the most “marginalized.”

"People who are down on their luck think, ‘oh, I'll sell sex,’ and because of all the news about Craigslist, that's probably the first place they think about. Then they see they need to provide a credit card, which they do, and they give law enforcement information so they can go and arrest them," Lopez said. "It's a waste of public resources -- arresting people who are already down on their luck.”

She said the sour economy has prompted an upswing in those looking to get involved in the sex industry in Las Vegas -- whether as a prostitute, a dancer, a phone sex worker or any other related profession, legal or not.

She said her organization doesn't help people get involved but does provide information and referrals.

"We believe that people in the industry should be treated with respect and dignity because they're working, too," said Lopez, a former exotic dancer. "There aren't a lot of opportunities for single mothers out there.”

But while Craigslist has caught the attention of potential sex workers and law enforcement alike, Lopez said other sites are still mostly under law enforcement’s radar.

"It's an entry-level sex worker thing. Anybody can do it, it's easy access,” she said. “But it's not the only resource out there, which in a way, it's kind of good that Craigslist is getting all the attention so the other (online classified) resources are left alone.”

CORRECTION: This story was updated to reflect Nevada's role in possible legal action. | (July 30, 2009)

Discussion: 15 comments so far…

By markp

7/30/09 at 4:38 a.m.

Suggest removal

so what, this is 2009 not 1809 who cares about sex ads, certainly the Europeans don't, they have less teen pregnancies and less sexual abuse, rapes etc..

if they legalise prostitution and tax it at 15% the county / state could improve their balance sheet by at least $720 million per year..
By Birdiedreamin

7/30/09 at 6:03 a.m.

Suggest removal

nothing but grandstanding by cortez masto...
she is an awful attorney general...
what has she done regarding the hepatitis epidemic???
hmmm???
anyone???
bottom line...
cortez masto is a complete and total joke...
who clearly needs to be booted out of office!!!
By scouser

7/30/09 at 6:14 a.m.

Suggest removal

Don't these dumb people realise that if men cannot pay for sex then the incidence of rape will go up drastically. Actions = consequences.
By VegasGlocker

7/30/09 at 7:13 a.m.

Suggest removal

Yeah, shut down Craigslist but what are they going to do about the other sites out there that do the same thing or the ones that will come in the future to fill the void? This is political grandstanding at its finest. You can't regulate morality with laws - people are people and the world's oldest profession won't go away just because they shut down one website. What a great use of time and resources by our government!

Its also amusing that our state government is so worried about this when our state political leaders have a hard time keeping it in their pants despite their professed faith and christian values! Maybe this crackdown is a good idea - limit our politician's access to illicit sex, wait they get theirs elsewhere so that won't work - whoops!
By markp

7/30/09 at 7:31 a.m.

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there is a fellow scouser in vegas..cool
By vegasj

7/30/09 at 8:19 a.m.

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Metro has a fetish with strippers, hookers, topless swimming pools, etc. Are they trying to send a message to just make prostitution legal? How many man hours and money is wasted on trying to shut down the sex industry? Daily, maybe hourly, there is metro in the news on a sex sting somewhere. E-N-O-U-G-H already!!!
By davidwayneosedach

7/30/09 at 9:35 a.m.

Suggest removal

If they force it off Craigs List - the ads will go to a competing site. There are unlimited venues to offer sex for sale on the internet.
By EveSerene

7/30/09 at 10:53 a.m.

Suggest removal

Yes, it is free speech. The oldest profession in the world is NOT prostitution folks...it's SALES!! (hookers gotta sell it first).^-^

We have free speech, but can't yell "fire" in a crowd, how come we can enter a legit field and holler "sex?" The danger is the same.

Prostitution is NOT going away, and it should be made legal, regulated/licensed, and taxed. This makes things safer for everyone, including-for example-the massage therapy industry where, if you just look in the phone book, TONS of prostitution is advertised there. I am a therapist, and at times feel unsafe because of the amount of men who call me looking for sex, and my ads say NO SEX.

There are avenues of prevention in place for these ads now...The Nevada State Board of Massage has been given authority to shut down the phone numbers in ads that misrepresent themselves as a massage business. It's one step in the right direction. Perhaps if their ads no longer generate income they will stop advertising there.

Also, online classifieds such as Kijiji.com strictly monitor and regulate illicit ads, and promptly remove them, and block the user from posting. Craigslist doesn't to that.

In fact, since doing this whole "adult services" fee thing, they (hookers) just post in the "therapeutic" section for free, and the ability to "report" them has actually been removed by CL!! Now, users cannot even notify CL of infringement. CL just doesn't care about anything but the bottom line.

As for the handbills, they need to be fined for littering up the strip. Those cards are all over the sidewalks and streets.
By fogcity

7/30/09 at 12:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

If law enforcement were to go after Craigslist for sex ads, why not also go after them for ads selling stolen merchandise, or persons selling services for which they are not licensed or bonded for? etc., etc. Prostitution ought to be legalized. Then it may then be possible to focus resources on underage prostitution and human trafficking.
By mred

7/30/09 at 6:16 p.m.

Suggest removal

Another hypocritical blue nose. Who Cares. Other than John Ensign.
By sexyblaze1

7/30/09 at 6:44 p.m.

Suggest removal

blaze is looking 4 company
By sunnysideup

7/30/09 at 6:57 p.m.

Suggest removal

Legalize it, regulate it, and tax it. Suing Craigslist will do nothing, there are hundreds of other sites people can go to.

And fogcity is correct about all the stolen merchandise sold there. That's what they should be sued for, if anything.
By azsk8fan

7/31/09 at 7:07 a.m.

Suggest removal

Sounds to me like if the 'Europeans' are so upset with life in the US they should just stay in Europe and enjoy all the free-wheelin' nudity they're touting.
By dan2548

7/31/09 at 4:12 p.m.

Suggest removal

Gotta love them hookers. They been in business longer than Jesus. So easy even a cavegirl can do it.
By shrek

7/31/09 at 7:10 p.m.

Suggest removal

shout for our rights to do with our money & bodies as we will.

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The Republicans, though banished to a minority, nevertheless still better understand how to communicate and motivate average Americans. That's why so far they're doing a better job spinning lies than health-care reformers have done with the truth.

How to regain the momentum in the debate? Presidential Ju-Jitsu and the same kind of grass-roots excitement that got him elected in the first place.

I suggest that he come out of August with a new, laser-sharp health-care plan framed something like this: "I gave Congress a chance to come up with their own plan to fix health care, slow spending and save jobs and they came up with many courageous, innovative ideas. They were also, however, hampered by disinformation from political opportunists and powerful interests determined to keep profiting obscenely off the backs of hard-working Americans. Read my lips: Not on my watch. "Business as usual" is bankrupting America. I gave Congress a chance. Now it's my turn..."

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