Craigslist shuts down personal ads

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The service announced on Friday it will no longer operate the portion of its website that allows individuals to seek encounters with strangers.


The move comes two days after the Senate approved of bipartisan legislation called the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act.


The legislation, now awaiting President Donald Trump's signature, would create an exception to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which would pave the way for victims of sex trafficking to sue websites that facilitate their abuse.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/23/technology/craigslist-personals-shutdown/index.html

The personals section, which is still visible on the Craigslist homepage, now redirects users to the announcement about the shutdown. ​

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Olivia said:
Until it's your daughter.
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Because you didn't use the quote feature we don't know for sure who you are addressing,Olivia. If you referred to my comment, I can only say that I hold dear free speech (other than that which seeks to deliberately harm others). Message boards require decisions of those who use them to be their own security...There can be abuses in anything.
 
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AZ Jim said:
Because you didn't use the quote feature we don't know for sure who you are addressing,Olivia. If you referred to my comment, I can only say that I hold dear free speech (other than that which seeks to deliberately harm others0. Message boards require decisions of those who use them to be their own security...There can be abuses in anything.
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I'm totally aware of that. I have had this same argument vis a vis free speech vs. censorship time and time again, just not here. I'm kind of surprised to have it pop up here where politics are limited for discussion.
 
Encounters with strangers? More of a safety issue, I would think. I am not for censorship but this crosses a line. Makes me wonder about people that would want an encounter with a stranger, especially in this day and age.
 
I don't see any free speech issue at all. If the owners of Craig's List or any other website decide they won't allow personal ads, it's their prerogative. I've never even looked at Craig's List and I'm not planning on placing a personal ad, so it's really not a blip on my radar.
 
C'est Moi said:
I don't see any free speech issue at all. If the owners of Craig's List or any other website decide they won't allow personal ads, it's their prerogative. I've never even looked at Craig's List and I'm not planning on placing a personal ad, so it's really not a blip on my radar.
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You're correct, there is no free speech issue here whatsoever.

It's been awhile, but I've looked at Craigslist.......one has to be very careful. If you click on an ad for "bicycle for sale" you might see a picture of someone's *******s. I don't know if the site has been cleaned up or more closely monitored, but their reputation has not been great. Then there was that case several yrs ago of the "Craigslist Killer".
 
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The "free speech" issue has nothing to do with Craigs list decision. The issue is the change in LAW to open Craigs and other publications to liability as a result of a users complaint. Only a court can decide if it is or is not a free speech issue.
 
Same case with many things , it is / was a good service ? Communication ? for so many. Then just a handful of rotten apples had to spoil it.

No personal experience , but over the years I have heard of a few folks that have met someone [solid] through it.
 
I would think a clause permitting adults only to the personal section and agreement that they use the personal section at their own risk would suffice to protect Craigslist from a lawsuit in the event of a possible lawsuit.

One of the craziest things I saw, not on Craigslist, but on Kijiji was a girl looking for a man to impersonate her father. Not what you think....her father was not in her life and she wanted a fake father to introduce to a new boyfriend. How she intended a follow up to that is anyone's guess.
 
They certainly shut down the white supremacist sites in a hurry, I believe invoking the hate speech rules.

If you can moderate hate speech, I suppose you can moderate "in search of" speech as well.

What is next, only time will tell.
 
C'est Moi said:
I don't see any free speech issue at all. If the owners of Craig's List or any other website decide they won't allow personal ads, it's their prerogative. I've never even looked at Craig's List and I'm not planning on placing a personal ad, so it's really not a blip on my radar.
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I agree. Its their decision only.
 
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