May 14th, 2009

Craigslist erotic services: Legal pressure shuts down section tied to prostitution

By Robert Mitchum and Monique Garcia, Chicago Tribune

It was the Internet's version of a seedy street corner, a largely unregulated hotbed of prostitution that allowed easy access to illegal sex, authorities say...

Such rhetoric concerned Internet free-speech supporters who said Craigslist's capitulation to law-enforcement pressure set a troubling precedent for other Web sites.

"If law enforcement feels it's a good idea to threaten criminal liability to strong-arm Web sites into doing what they want, I think they will do that," said Matt Zimmerman, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Related Issues: Free Speech

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