I just heard the city of Chicago is planning on suing CL because it is the largest internet prostitution site!  That can hurt the hobby!  They should focus on things worse than consenting adults!

"Prostitution Site"

Can CL be held responsible for the actions of the people who post and respond to ads?

Further, does 1st Amendment apply here?  Does any other Constitutional Provision apply?

BTW, southfl09, it would help if you posted a link.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090305/ap_on_hi_te/craigslist_prostitution

-- Modified on 3/5/2009 12:48:14 PM

I don't think CL is liable.  The city is just trying to make  point more than anything else.

Nope, Craigslist is shielded from liability by the safe harbor provisions of section 230 of the DMCA. Filing the lawsuit does 3 things:

1 It drags Craigslist's good(?) name thru the mud creating a PR problem for them.
2 It costs Craigslist a boatload of money to go to court in Ohio to fight this.
3 It gets the sheriff's name out there as a protector of women and children so voters will know his name when he runs for office.

My bet is that CL will fold and drop the erotic services category as being too much of a problem, which will mean that the escorts will move to another category that is harder to track. As others have pointed out before, LE loves Craigslist since it provides lots of low-hanging fruit to go after when they need to show they are doing something about the "problem". And according to the article below, Sheriff Dart has busted at least 75 prostitutes via Craigslist over the last 18 months.

And I do not think we need to reach the constitutional questions.

      Difficult to see how the Sheriff can get around the Communications Decency Act (CDA) , 47 USC 230,  which provides that Internet service providers cannot be treated as “the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. The CDA further provides that “[n]o cause of action may be brought and no liability may be imposed under any State or local law that is inconsistent with this section.

    This statute, of course, shields TER from most civil lawsuits arising from what we posters post, at least where TER is not providing content (I've never thought it was a good idea to have review writing moderators, or allowing moderators to post for that matter, but we'll save that for another day). But I digress.


      The news article seems to imply that the Sherrif has filed a civil lawsuit against Craigslist seeking an injunction and damages for public nuisance. According to the article, CL is not merely allowing the placement of the prostitution ads but is facilitating prostitution.

         Assuming that the prostitution ads at issue are provided by ladies that have no connection to CL, CL is simply an Internet service provider with respect to this material. Under the CDA, CL therefore cannot be deemed to be the publisher or speaker of the info for purposes of any state tort law. Given this restriction, I do not see how CL can be deemed to have caused the public nuisance, since any such finding would have to treat CL as the publisher of the ads.

        No explanation is given as to how CL is “facilitating prostitution” other than by allowing the ads. But it would seem there must be evidence beyond allowing the ads to get around CDA.

      But surely the county atty has greenlighted this lawsuit and has some theory as to why the CDA does not bar the lawsuit. I can't figure out what it is but maybe someone else can enlighten us.

Why would CraigsList have to fight this possible legal action in Ohio when Cook County is in Illinois ???

Errr, because I was having a "senior moment"? Or I misspelled Illinois?

I don't believe it.  Everytime I turn on the news, another city is busting people on Craigslist.  Port St Lucie Fl just had a big bust today.  According to the report, the detective asked what he got for the money and all she said was full service.  And thats all it takes folks!  Be Very Careful.

I've heard people talk about cops not getting naked and that is one way to tell if they are a cop.  I can now say from experience that this is not true.  The Chicago cops will get naked, let you get started and then 1/2 way through will stop and bust you.

Craigslist has been around for awhile and was considered a great way to get new clients under the erotic services section...What is happening though is the predators in the business are promoting young girls and promoting child prostitution which is appalling! The children have to be protected, however the consenting adults should be allowed to post-and now CL charges $5 per post.
My problem with the board, is that you have posts with naked pictures of women with titles like: CUM ON THIS PHAT BOOTY...how can you then say your not selling sex? Personally I will never use Craigslist under the erotic service section because it is basically an online ho stroll! Classy ladies would never post on CL.

I always wondered why chicago was a tough town it started with the worlds fair in the 1880's and the feds were cracking down on immigration and trafficking of children and women. That is why it is the toughest city to work in and always will. If you prescreen and stay in a 3 and half star hotel and look professional you shouldnt run into le! They bust girls on eros too dont let cl fool you