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April 9, 2011 (San Diego) – Thanks to ECM reader Tiffany Husted for alerting us to a website called www.Geebo.com. “It is a safer website like Craigslist but so much better!” Husted wrote. “They do not allow child solicitation, human trafficking, drugs, spam or scams. They double check their postings manually and automatically, unlike Craigslist.”
Craigslist has repeatedly been implicated for allowing prostitution and even human trafficking of children to be advertised. ECM research found that Geebo is a nationwide online classified ads site established in 2000. It offers a safer haven to place and browse ads by reviewing all ads before publishing them to be sure content is appropriate. Geebo was first in its industry to remove personal ads and has never supported adult content, drug or gun sales. Geebo has also been recognized by human rights groups for its commitment to improve safety on the Internet.
Authorities in New Jersey say a new “Craigslist killer” may have murdered a dozen or more women who he met through Craigslist, where the victims advertised prostitution. Although Craigslist previously banned prostitution ads after a prior serial killer was found to have lured victims to their deaths through answering ads on the site, Craigslist continued to allow “adult” advertising where thinly veiled ads for prostitution and human trafficking including minors reportedly still flourish.
On March 9, Geebo CEO Greg Collier issued a press release calling on Craigslist and other online classified ad websites to join him to make ads safe and socially responsible in order to combat the problems of human trafficking, prostitution and other crimes,
“We issued this letter because this burgeoning industry, which affects 53% of all web users, has significant, growing problems involving human rights abuses, scams, and violent crime,” Collier said. In an open letter to the operators of other classifieds sites, he called on them to join him in implementing screening and monitoring techniques to keep unsafe ads off of their sites and deter criminals from visiting.
While prescreening advertisers to prevent illegal services from being advertised is a step forward in reducing crime linked to online classified services, consumers should still remain wary of meeting someone who responds to an online ad. A La Mesa store owner has told ECM’s editor that a friend of hers was once victimized by a man who came to her home after answering a Craigslist ad for furniture for sale. “Never meet anyone at your home,” she suggested. Choose a public place instead and don’t give our personal information.
Still, Geebo’s actions are viewed by many as steps in the right direction, making it harder for criminals to easily prey upon victims, particularly minors being trafficked online.
Geebo - which is endorsed by a number of human rights organizations, including the Polaris Project, change.org and End Slavery Now - is a model for a Best Practices Guide established by the FAIR Fund, a Washington, D.C. organization focused on the preservation of human rights. The company is based in Virginia.
Some of the proactive steps that Geebo has taken - and is calling on others to adopt - include:
• Provide both automated and manual screening of all ads before they go live. Content on Geebo.com, for example, is screened through a proprietary filter that utilizes keyword lists developed by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and various law enforcement agencies.
• Take a proactive approach to remove, reduce and prevent crime on the sites by reporting all suspicious activity to law enforcement agencies.
• Refuse all erotic and “adult” ads and instead provide support for positive family and community interactions. Geebo, for example, offers free postings to non-profit organizations and includes volunteer listings from VolunteerMatch.org.
In his open letter, Collier called on his counterparts to do their parts to deter criminals from hiding behind the anonymous nature of online classifieds sites and keep them from areas where responsible people are visiting to buy and sell goods and offer legitimate services. He also warned of what could happen if the site owners fail to take their own precautionary action.
“We all know that when an industry fails to protect its users from dangerous products and activities, the government steps in,” Colier said. “ None of us needs or wants such unnecessary regulation when we can take our own steps to deter criminals...”
“The Geebo.com businesses practices represent exactly the kind of responsible commitments that all companies should make to prevent children from being sexually exploited,” said Carol Smolenski, Executive Director of End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA).
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