14 DAY TRIAL // Craigslist has been the target of plenty of criticism and attacks from various groups, politicians and especially attorneys general looking to mentions in the press. The source of all of this has been the site's Adult Services section and Craigslist has now removed it in the US replacing it with a "censored" logo.
The move came as a response to increasing pressure from politicians and the press looking for any 'controversy' that will sell. Craigslist hasn't provided an official explanation and has not commented on the move.
It may be that it was forced to do so, or it did it in protest. It's also unknown if the move is permanent or just temporary.
Last month, 17 attorneys general in the US sent a joint letter to Craigslist urging the site to shut down the Adult Services section. They argue that, not only is the section encouraging the practice of the oldest profession in the world as well as human trafficking, it's also linked to a number of crimes.
The problem is that, by law, Craigslist is allowed to maintain the section and is not required to take too many measures in regulating it. However, this has not stopped attorneys general, many of whom are looking to start a political career, from using the press to criticize the site.
Last year, following similar protests from law officials, Craigslist agreed to rename the section into Adult Services and promised to do more to screen out illegal ads.
The site says it has manually blocked over 700,000 ads since then. But the section is one of the site's few that charge for ad listings. And it is estimated that it will bring in $45 million this year for Craigslist.
It remains to be seen if this is a permanent move and if the company plans to comment on it.