154) Adult Services

(Photo from Athensboy's blog.)

Yesterday, news broke that Craigslist will not be reinstating its "adult services" section that quietly went down earlier this month. After receiving heat from law enforcement officials and non-profits over prostitution and child trafficking, the site decided to salvage what little cred it had left. Unfortunately, Craigslist's slow-mo response, reluctance to talk to the media about the issue, and curious decision to keep similar adult service sections live overseas has caused critics to question its motives.

Craigslist's role in the sex trade industry has become so ingrained that many users have acclimated, accepting it as a con of an otherwise useful site. Despite knowing that sex trafficking runs rampant (quote from End Human Trafficking: "Trafficking survivor-turned-advocate Tina Frundt of Courtney's House said every single victim she's worked with has been sold on Craigslist at some point, and every pimp she's met has a MySpace page where they recruit. And all agreed that in the 21st century, child sex trafficking has gone cyber."), it's still the site I turn to for cheap furniture, apartment rentals/sublets, and selling things I don't need.

Over the years, Craigslist has remained consistent as a brand, opting to keep its layout and functions down and dirty and basic. It's become somewhat of an institution, thanks to this simplicity, its openness (no need to create an account) and its timeliness. It'll be interesting to see where Craigslist goes from here PR-wise. While critics wait to see what it'll do to save face, I can't help but wonder if the layman (non-law enforcement official, non-nonprofit activist) even cares.