Craigslist Adult Services Section to Remain Padlocked

Craigslist will not reopen the "adult services" section that it shut down earlier this month.

William Clint Powell, Craigslist's director of customer service and law enforcement relations, made the announcement in a hearing before the the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Craigslist has been under increasing political pressure to shut its adult services section permanently. Separately, a hundred organizations fighting sex trafficking issued a similar move worldwide. (In other countries, the section is still known as "erotic.")

Officials from Craigslist have expressed frustration at their transmogrification into political pinatas and at the hearing Powell predicted that "those who formerly posted adult services ads on Craigslist will now advertise at countless other venues."

"To our knowledge no other venue has adopted these best practices, and in fact very few venues have adopted more than one of these measures," Powell's prepared statements read. "Indeed, Craigslist has been one of the few bright spots and success stories in the critical fight against trafficking and child exploitation."

CEO Jim Buckmaster, who was unable to travel to the meeting, released a statement lnoting that "Craigslist has long collaborated with attorneys general, law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, and other concerned parties in this regard, and we look forward to assisting the subcommittee as it considers the role Internet sites should play in combating domestic minor sex trafficking."