CHICAGO — Online classifieds site Craigslist said Wednesday it will drop its controversial “erotic services” category in response to law enforcers who said the ads were a front for prostitution. The old category will be replaced with one listing “adult services,” and a fee will be charged, the company said.
Employees will monitor every posting before it appears online — a precaution the site has been criticized for refusing to take in the past.
Pressure to remove the category increased this spring after a Boston medical student was charged with killing a masseuse whom authorities say he met through Craigslist.
The move comes two months after Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart filed a lawsuit alleging Craigslist not only allows the solicitation of prostitution but had created what he called the “largest source of prostitution in America.” The Associated Press
