Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster founded craigslist, the most popular website in the country for classified ads.
Question:
Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster 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 on craigslist 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 wishes. 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 founders' personal ethics code? What were their options? Could they have had any real impact on this thriving industry? What pitfalls did they face?
Step by Step Answer:
Business Law and the Legal Environment
ISBN: 978-1285860381
7th edition
Authors: Susan S. Samuelson, Jeffrey F. Beatty