Craigslist website has self censored the Adult Services section of its website as of late Friday night.Because the controversial section on the classified advertisement site’s homepage has now been replaced with a black and white “CENSORED” box .

The reason of the move comes after attorneys general in 17 states stated in a joint letter last week that the site is aiding in illegal exploitation, prostitution and human trafficking. In the letter was write to, Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigslist, Jim Buckmaster, CEO, and the site’s attorney Edward Wes were asked to “immediately take down the Adult Services portion of craigslist.”The spokeswoman of Craiglist Susan MacTavish said last week: “We hope to work closely with them, as we are with experts at nonprofits and in law enforcement, to prevent misuse of our site in facilitation of trafficking”.

Craigslist website has previously taken steps to reduce misuse and illegal activities. In November 2008 the site began requiring a phone number and small fee to place an advertisement in the Erotic Services section.After coming under further fire from state in May 2009, a and local law enforcement from around the country, Craigslist replaced the Erotic Services section of its regional sites with the new Adult Services section.And all advertisements in this section, according to Craigslist, would be screened by the site’s employees before being posted and cost $10, rather than the previous $5 cost of an Erotic Services advertisement.

Six days before on August 18, the letter was sent, Buckmaster stated the following on Craigslist’s blog: “Craigslist is committed to being socially responsible, and when it comes to adult services ads, that includes aggressively combating violent crime and human rights violations, including human trafficking and the exploitation of minors. We are working intensively as I write this with experts and thought leaders at leading non-profits and among law enforcement on further substantive measures we can take.”

The Erotic Services on Craiglist website controversy was heightened further earlier this month when two young women identifying themselves as former child prostitutes going by “MC and AK” took out an advertisement in the Washington Post and claimed to have been sold via Craigslist. Site CEO Buckmaster responded, asking for further details on the arrest of their exploiters and reiterating the site’s stance on the subject.

Buckmaster wrote:”We work with law enforcement to bring to justice any criminals foolish enough to incriminate themselves by misusing our site, and want to make sure everything possible has been done in your cases,” he also added “Even politicians looking to advance their careers by publicly criticizing us grudgingly admit (when pressed) that we have made giant strides in fighting trafficking and child exploitation.”

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