Should Craigslist be Censored?

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Craigslist has been in the media a lot lately, and not for anything good.

There has been a lot of talk about prostitution and other illegal activities on Craigslist in their adult services section. Some claim that Craigslist has helped to promote such activities across the country. These people think that Craigslist should be held responsible for the content in the ads that are posted.

The problem is free speech. Is censoring Craigslist posts essentially censoring people’s free speech? Opponents of the pressure Craigslist has been facing about their adult services section believe that not only is Craigslist not responsible for what people post in the ads, but that censoring any of the posts violates people’s right to free speech. In other words, even if it’s offensive to some or illegal, people should be allowed to post any kind of ad that they want.

Craigslist has bowed to the pressure and censored the adult services section. Instead of completely removing it, Craigslist has instead place a black and white censored bar where the link used to be. This says that while Craigslist is bowing to demands, it doesn’t really want to be censored. Some people think that the move was designed to influence the opinion of the public.

It remains to be seen whether or not censoring Craigslist will actually affect the rates of prostitution and arrangements for such illegal activities being made online. Most experts seem to believe that it will not.

Craigslist cannot be held liable for what its users post under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. So perhaps the censoring is an attempt to sway the opinion of the public or maybe it is a way to simply put an end to the controversy.

What is clear is that it is not just those who participate in things like prostitution that can make use of Craigslist. Law enforcement officials can also take advantage of the site and it could even be beneficial to them in stopping such activities.

Should Craigslist be censored? What do you think?