Craigslist on Thursday filed suit against 14 companies and individuals who stand accused of using the classifieds Web site to facilitate human trafficking, child exploitation, and prostitution.
“The incidence of crime on Craigslist is actually exceedingly low, considering the tens of millions of legitimate ads posted each month by well-intentioned users," Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in a statement. “But no amount of criminal activity is acceptable, and as Craigslist has grown, we have become aware of instances where our free services were being misused to facilitate illegal activities."
Craigslist has not yet released details about those involved in the lawsuit, but they stand accused of selling software and other services that can circumvent Craiglist's terms of service enforcement and allow for the posting of items that would have otherwise been blocked by the site's protection mechanisms.
The company has also sent “cease and desist" letters to “numerous other companies and individuals."
In addition to legal action, Craigslist will require that people who post ads on the “erotic services" section of the site to provide credit card verification and pay a fee. Craigslist recently started requiring those who post via “erotic services" to provide a valid telephone number, a move that has reduced ad volume in that section by 80 percent.
“The incidence of crime on Craigslist is actually exceedingly low, considering the tens of millions of legitimate ads posted each month by well-intentioned users," Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in a statement. “But no amount of criminal activity is acceptable, and as Craigslist has grown, we have become aware of instances where our free services were being misused to facilitate illegal activities."
Craigslist has not yet released details about those involved in the lawsuit, but they stand accused of selling software and other services that can circumvent Craiglist's terms of service enforcement and allow for the posting of items that would have otherwise been blocked by the site's protection mechanisms.
The company has also sent “cease and desist" letters to “numerous other companies and individuals."
In addition to legal action, Craigslist will require that people who post ads on the “erotic services" section of the site to provide credit card verification and pay a fee. Craigslist recently started requiring those who post via “erotic services" to provide a valid telephone number, a move that has reduced ad volume in that section by 80 percent.
