Why Florida’s AG didn’t sign onto the Craigslist agreement

Florida attorney general Bill McCollum was one of ten state Attorneys General who refused to sign onto a recent agreement with Craigslist to police their Erotic Services advertisers. Here’s why:

Attorney General McCollum decided not to sign the agreement because of several concerns, including the fee for posting ads.

His spokeswoman says that fee is a problem because it creates the appearance that paying a fee legitimizes ads for prostitution on Craigslist.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster says while legal escort services and massage services are welcome on the Web site, offers of prostitution and other illegal services are absolutely not welcome.

Buckmaster says he’s confident that the credit card verification and fee to post will be valuable tools to fight illegal activity.

Craigslist says the cash from erotic ads will be given to charity, as yet undecided.

The Florida attorney general’s office says that’s another problem with the agreement: it’s unclear where the money is going and how it will be distributed.

Buckmaster says the recipients have not been announced yet, but prominent on the list will be groups that do good work in the fight against child exploitation and human trafficking.