Closing the Internet Brothel
by Kirsten Powers It turns out that Craigslist is about a lot more than second-hand furniture or an apartment rental: Prosecutors charge that it's a prime part of the modern slave trade. The Web site has become one of the most effective (and free) tools for human traffickers to ply their hideous trade. Its former "erotic services" section has allegedly been a boon to the human scum who post children and women for sale. Incidents like the ones involving "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff and the New York radio reporter allegedly killed by a teenager who responded to a Craigslist ad are apparently just the tip of the iceberg. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has referred to the Craigslist section then known as "erotic services" as an "Internet brothel." Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin accuses it of being a significant source of child prostitution in her city. In 2008, the attorneys general of 40 states charged that the site's "ero...