[redherring.com]- The massively popular internet classified ad site Craigslist has for a long time been an online location where it's been said you can find just about anything you want—from a second hand Playstation to a 'casual encounter' for the evening.
Craigslist, which has some 40 million monthly users, plans to begin charging a fee for ads offering 'erotic services' in an attempt to keep within the law. Currently, the 'personals' section, along with most other classifieds—apart from job postings and apartment listings—are free of charge.
The hope is that the introduction of a fee for 'erotic services' payable by a credit card and an accompanying phone number, would potentially be enough of a deterrent and leave a legal paper trail putting off some potential ads soliciting prostitution.
Still, anyone that has perused the casual encounters section of the site, and I did this, you understand, strictly in the capacity as one of my beats, will see that there seems to be an unlimited number of individuals, and indeed groups, wishing to hook-up for 'free.' This clean-up attempt would seem to be an impossible task. Trying to quash the possibility of professional services being offered would simply send them undercover. In other words, the online equivalent of the "massage parlors" would literally mushroom overnight. I can pretty much guarantee that the number of ads posting 'therapeutic massage services' will increase exponentially.
Law enforcement already tracks eBay for criminals looking to off-load 'hot' swag online so now it just seems more officers will be confined to checking their online beats to expose individuals soliciting in a sting operation.
Given that voters on Tuesday rejected a Measure K, which attempted to decriminalize prostitution in San Francisco, it would appear that a backlash to clean up the city's image has started in earnest not just on the streets of the Tenderloin, but in the recesses and alley ways of the anonymous online community.
Mayor Gavin Newsom and District Attorney Kamala Harris opposed Proposition K saying it was not a "victimless crime" believing that the law would encourage sex trafficking.
Proponents of the measure argued that the law would provide legal rights and protection for sex workers' safety and significantly reduce the number of crimes involving illegal sex-slave trade. That seems like a reasonable and fairly sensible idea to me and that way almost everyone is guaranteed a 'happy ending.'
