Cengage Advantage Books: Essentials of Business Law 5th Edition by Jeffrey Beatty,Susan Samuelson

Exercise 23

Craig Newmark founded craigslist, the most popular website in the country for classified ads. Rather than maximizing its profits, craigslist instead focused on developing a community among its users. It was a place to find an apartment, a pet, a job, a couch, a date, a babysitter, and, it turned out, a prostitute. Most of the ads oncraigslist were free, but blatant ads for sex were not. Much of the company's revenue was from these illegal services. Many of the prostitutes available on craigslist were not independent entrepreneurs; they were women and girls bought and sold against their will. To fight sex trafficking, craigslist required credit cards and phone numbers, and it reported any suspicious ads. Law enforcement officials pressured craigslist to close the sex section of its website. But some people argued that blocking these ads was a violation of free speech and would just drive this business more underground where law enforcement officials were less likely to be able to find it. Others said that banning these ads made the business model of selling children for sex less profitable. Does it seem that trafficking women and children was in keeping with the founder's Life Principles What were his options Could he have had any real impact on this thriving industry What traps did he face