CHICAGO — Cook County’s sheriff filed a federal lawsuit against Craigslist on Thursday, saying the popular online classifieds site promotes and facilitates prostitution on a massive scale.
Sheriff Tom Dart wants Craigslist to eliminate its “erotic services” section, suggesting that many of the section’s ads are blatant solicitations for prostitution.
“Missing children, runaways, abused women and women trafficked in from foreign countries are routinely forced to have sex with strangers because they’re being pimped on Craigslist,” Dart said.
Dart cited ads such as “Teens for cash … $100 quickie” and “Are you looking to make some good money in this tough economy. Minimum pay is $25 per hour … performing duties specified in Naughty Nannies handbook.”
Susan Best, a spokeswoman for San Francisco-based Craigslist, said the company cooperates with law enforcement and works diligently to prevent illegal use of the site. She said the company has taken such measures as placing prominent notices banning illegal activity and removing inappropriate ads.
“Any misuse of the site is not tolerated by Craigslist,” Best said.
She said the company has not seen the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Craigslist allows users to post classified ads and other items and, like many other sites, generally doesn’t check the postings or remove them unless it receives complaints. Federal law offers broad immunity to service providers for content posted by users, as long as they respond to specific complaints.
Dart said Thursday’s lawsuit follows repeated requests for Craigslist to shut down the “erotic services” section. In recent weeks, Dart said, one of his own officers — writing as a 15-year-old girl — posted ads for sex on the site that generated responses from several people, including a convicted sex offender.
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