Will closing craigslist’s ‘Adult Services’ fight prostitution?

"Will the move to shut down Craigslist’s “adult services” listings help or hurt efforts to combat prostitution and sex trafficking?

Craigslist put a black “censored” label over the category this weekend after about 20 state attorneys general demanded that the online-classifieds site shut down the section. But Craigslist watchers — both supporters and critics — say ads for prostitution will simply migrate to other sites or other parts of Craigslist. And sociologist and Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd says the move actually helps pimps and traffickers by driving the business further underground.

“Taking something that is visible and making it invisible makes a politician look good, even if it does absolutely nothing to help the victims who are harmed,” Boyd writes in an essay on the Huffington Post. “It creates the illusion of safety, while signaling to pimps, traffickers, and other scumbags that their businesses are perfectly safe as long as they stay invisible.”

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster has framed the issue as one of free speech — citing “legitimate service providers,” such as phone-sex lines, that should be allowed to advertise. Even the use of the word “censored” implies that the argument is primarily one about the First Amendment. While free speech might be at play here, for people who care about violence against women, the argument should really be about how best to use the Internet to stop abuse, Boyd says."

Read the full article from the Wall Street Journal