Maryland’s and Virginia’s attorneys general called on Craigslist Tuesday to remove its adult services section, saying the popular classifieds Web site is rampant with advertisements for prostitution and child trafficking.
Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli signed a joint letter with their counterparts from 15 other states, offering the strongest rebuttal yet to a service increasingly under fire for lax monitoring of messages and improper safeguards for users.
“The adult services section of Craigslist.com has become a forum for inviting illegal — and potentially very dangerous — activity throughout Virginia,” Cuccinelli said. “Given the frequency that law enforcement finds these ads on the site, it seems clear that whatever monitoring Craigslist may be doing of posts is not sufficient.”
In 2008, Craigslist officials pledged to crack down on illegal advertisements and bolster cooperation with law enforcement officials. And last year, the site removed its erotic services section amid the national prominence tied to Philip Markoff, a Boston medical student accused of killing a woman who offered massage service on the site.
But the states’ top lawyers aren’t satisfied with the progress.
“Ads for prostitution, including ads trafficking children, continue to be a grave problem on Craigslist,” said Gansler. “While the company has made progress in blocking such ads, it is unfortunately not enough. More must be done to combat the human exploitation that these ads foster.”
Cuccinelli is sending letters to all Virginia sheriffs and police chiefs detailing crimes on the site, and offered the aid of the state’s Computer Crimes Section for future investigations.
The letter referenced two young girls, who said in July they were trafficked for sex through the Web site and called on the company to eliminate the adult services section.
“We recognize that Craigslist may lose the considerable revenue generated by the Adult Services ads,” the letter reads. “No amount of money, however, can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution, and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist.”
The San Francisco company, which has generally deflected criticism to those who committed the actual crimes, vowed to improve the site.
“We hope to work closely with [the attorneys general], as we are with experts at nonprofits and in law enforcement, to prevent misuse of our site in facilitation of trafficking,” said spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best.
Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas officials also signed the letter.
