Craigslist is not on law enforcement’s good side at the moment; its erotic services section has come under fire from all sorts of people following the attacks in Boston. But it looks like the lines of communication are still open, at least, as Craigslist representatives will soon meet with Illinois’s attorney general.
This won’t be the first time the two sides have gotten together. In November, 43 attorneys general (including Illinois’s Lisa Madigan) released a joint statement with Craigslist about its new telephone and credit card verification systems. They were pleased to announce that the phone feature alone had reduced the volume of erotic services ads by 80 percent.
Lisa Madigan
Now, a post on the Craigslist Blog states, “We look forward to meeting with Attorney General Madigan to discuss progress made . . . and to hear any and all ideas she and others may have that could help reach our shared goal of eliminating illegal activity from craigslist, while preserving all of the functionality and positive attributes that are currently enjoyed by the overwhelmingly law-abiding craigslist community of users.”
It may be that some significant changes will result. Craigslist would rather look cooperative than have legislation drawn up against it, after all. Or, since that possibility doesn’t appear to be an immediate threat, perhaps everyone will just argue about accountability a bit more.
Both sides are likely to feel less pressure to do something as the media turns its attention to swine flu, after all.
