Classified web sites like Craiglist used to facilitate human trafficking, predatory crimes, spread of viruses, phishing, and other scams
Jonathan Strickland, ‘How Craigslist Works’ (1 November 2007) HowStuffWorks.com Section 4, Craigslist Controversy <http://money.howstuffworks.com/craigslist3.htm> at 9 November 2010.
Craigslist (and Gumtree) ads might be used to commit a variety of offences, eg:
A scammer might respond to an innocent ‘for sale’ ad, purport to buy the item, and send a cheque for a much larger amount than agreed upon. The ‘buyer’ then apologises for the mistake and asks the seller to deposit the cheque in their own account and wire the difference. The cheque is later found by the bank to be fraudulent, the seller is responsible (and out of pocket) and the buyer rides off into the sunset with their free money.
In 2007, a Craigslist member posted an ad seeking a babysitter. He then killed the young woman who responded to the ad.
Sex trafficking facilitated by Craigslist:
Amanda Kloer, ‘Craigslist makes $36 million from illegal sex ads’ (26 April 2010) Change.org <http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/craigslist_makes_36_million_from_illegal_sex_ads> at 8 November 2010.
David Wright, Lisa Jones and Xorje Olivares, "Craigslist: Site for Sex Slaves’ Story Saves Girl’s Life’ (6 September 2010) ABC World News with Diane Sawyer <http://abcnews.go.com/WN/popular-website-craigslist-outlet-sex-trafficking-child-exploitation/story?id=11367581> at 8 November 2010.
QUESTION: is Craigslist ‘authorising’ sex trafficking if they do not do more than simply give a ‘facelift’ to the adult category? A commenter on Craigslist says that the website is simply a reflection of society and not a contributor to its problems. He points out that the site’s Terms of Service stipulate that users are responsible for reporting criminal content. In light of this comment, can Craigslist be seen as simply a service provider, like ISPs in the iiNet case, that by their provision of service do not authorise any illegal activity committed by people while using the service
- Stephen Fenech and Alex Dickinson, 'Facebook warns users to show 'extreme care' making contact with people as police want users to pull photos from site' (18 May 2010) The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) <http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/police-warn-australians-to-pull-photos-from-facebook-after-teen-allegedly-killed-by-friend/story-e6freuy9-1225868199558> at 8 November 2010.
See the summary of this story in the chapter on (Privacy).
Wikileaks attacks and counter-attacks, December 2010
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/12/09/welcome-to-the-internet-wars/