April 2010

Craigslist CEO Jim ‘Pimp Daddy’ Buckmaster has descended from his Bay Area ivory tower to blog about the New York Times article that alleges that at least a third of craigslist’s money is made from the prostitution ads and that they are no longer donating the sex ad money to charity. You can see Jimmy’s latest blog posts here and here.

However hell has partially frozen over because Jimmy and myself actually agree on something and that would be Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

I’ve been no fan of Blumenthal ever since he called out MySpace to protect kids from molesters rather than telling parents to do their damn jobs because MySpace isn’t a voter. Jimmy asks why isn’t Blumenthal picking on other outlets that have advertising for prostitution, even though he calls it adult services. That’s where Jimmy and myself agree because not only should Blumenthal be going after craigslist but also the Village Voice Media owned backpage.com as well.

However that’s where the happy agreement party ends.

As usual Jimmy B is quick to point out that since all these other avenues have ‘adult services’ (read: prostitution/human trafficking ads) then it’s ok for craigslist to do it. Never once does he address the real concerns in his blog posts. He doesn’t address whether or not craigslist is still donating the sex ad money to charity or not or whether or not that craigslist makes a third of its income from those ads.

And again he states how high and mighty craigslist is when it comes to legal matters…

Of the thousands of US venues that carry adult service ads, including ones operated by some of our largest and best known companies, craigslist has done the best and most responsible job of combating child exploitation and human trafficking. Period. We would challenge anyone to find a company that goes anywhere near the lengths to which CL does.

I can think of several Jimmy. They would be the ones who don’t offer virtually anonymous ads that facilitate to child prostitution, human trafficking and rapes.

If you truly want to be a leader in your industry Jim remove adult services, remove casual encounters, or they will not only be the bane of craigslist’s existence but they will also be the cause of craigslist’s fall.

If you truly cared about child exploitation and human trafficking you would remove those sections.

Sex Ads Seen Adding Revenue to Craigslist:

According to this article from the New York Times the Advanced Interactive Media Group claims that craigslist is on its way to making $122 Million this year. That is 22% more than the amount of last year’s projection.

Also according to the New York Times this because craigslist has stopped donating the money from the ‘Adult Services’ section.

Remember back to May of last year when craigslist said they were taking the $10 and $5 charges they get for the adult services and donating that money to charity? Yep, so do I. Well they are supposedly no longer donating that money to the tune of $36 Million kept in craigslist’s coffers.

In the e-mail message, Mr. Buckmaster said, “Misuse of Craigslist for criminal purposes is utterly unacceptable, and Craigslist will continue to work with its partners in law enforcement and at nongovernmental organizations until it is eliminated.”

He declined to say whether the company was continuing to donate revenue from sex ads to charity, but he said the company was continuing to develop its charitable initiatives.

Jimmy B. also used the they’re doing it so we can do it too defense…

“Of the thousands of U.S. venues that carry adult service ads, including venues operated by some of the largest and best known companies in the U.S., Craigslist has done the best and most responsible job of combating child exploitation and human trafficking.”

That’s like saying “in a world of sewers we’re top turd.”

The fact that you still allow these ads which in turn result in not just prostitution but also child prostitution and human trafficking shows that you’re really not doing anything to prevent these travesties from happening in the first place.

Instead of being reactive to the problem why don’t you be active in putting a stop to it. How about not waiting for law enforcement to contact you before acting and make the first strike by eliminating not only the adult services section but the casual encounters section as well.

Oh right. The $36 Million dollars. That’s why.

Mafia hits ‘new low’: Reputed Gambino mobsters charged with running Craigslist teen prostution ring:

Alleged members of the New York mob have been accused of not only only running a prostitution ring on craigslist but for also pimping out a 15-year-old girl in that ring.

When craigslist said that the adult services section was only going to be used by ‘legitimate’ adult businesses I guess they meant that the Mafia is a legitimate adult business.

It’s almost like Jim Buckmaster is the head of his own little crime family.