CWA Applauds the State Attorneys General Crackdown on Craigslist Erotic Ads     11/7/2008

Washington, D.C. — Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced an agreement between 40 state attorneys general and Craigslist to crack down on prostitution ads found under its erotic services section.

The agreement states that Craigslist will require erotic service posters to supply them with a working phone number and to pay Craigslist a fee with a valid credit card. By so doing, Craigslist is compiling information for response to law enforcement subpoenas.

Connecticut State Attorney General Blumenthal said, "Requiring phone numbers, credit cards and identifying details will provide a roadmap to prostitutes and sex traffickers - so we can track them down and lock them up. Information is a powerful disincentive and disinfectant to purveyors of illegal sex. Prostitutes will hopefully stop using Craigslist to break the law, knowing that their posts could lead to arrest and conviction."

Dr. Janice Crouse, Director and Senior Fellow of Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, said, "I am pleased to see Attorney General Blumenthal has taken action and is joined by 39 other attorneys general. Shining a light on these advertisers by requiring them to reveal their identities to law enforcement will curb the normalization of prostitution through advertising. Attacking the pimps and traffickers through the profits they make on the Internet will save countless women and children from the horrors of sexual exploitation and will reduce demand."

According to AG Blumenthal's press release, Craigslist also agreed to sue 14 software and Internet companies that aid erotic service ad posters in circumventing the website's defenses against inappropriate content and illegal activity.

Additionally, Craigslist will deploy search technology developed to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcement agencies in identifying missing persons, children and victims of human trafficking. To round out this exemplary effort, Craigslist is exploring technology to block inappropriate image uploads and better filters for code words and euphemisms for illegal activity.

The other 39 states that signed onto this agreement are: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

For Information Contact:
Demi Bardsley
(202) 488-7000, ext. 1020
media.cwfa.org

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