Investigating the Internet

by nicole ~ April 23, 2009

As a former Boston resident, avid Craigslist user….and human, I find the news of the Craigslist killer to be pretty frightening.  When the news first broke, we imagined the alleged suspect would probably be some sort of deranged psychopath, yet were more horrified to find out he could easily have been any of our peers or colleagues. While we watch this case unfold, it is interesting to see what role Craigslist will play, and what this means for the site’s future.  As the Internet and social media become integral in our daily lives, it’s only natural, and unfortunate, that they’ll start having a roll in such cases.

According to this article in the Christian Science Monitor, Craigslist is under fire from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D), “who this week urged Craigslist to immediately ban photos from its ‘erotic services’ section, hire staff to screen postings of images that blatantly violate the terms of use, and implement significant credit card penalties for such violations.”

Using what I think are some pretty good PR tactics, according to the Christian Science Monitor article, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster crafted a timely response.

“In response to concerns raised by the murder and the request from Blumenthal, Craigslist chief executive officer Jim Buckmaster said he agrees, ‘there is more work to be done, not just by Craigslist but by all Internet-based services, working cooperatively with law-enforcement officials to eliminate illegitimate activity to the greatest extent possible.’”

While I definitely think Craigslist and other similar Internet sites have an obligation to make their services as safe as possible, they cannot be solely responsible for the actions of others, it’s just a step along the way.

According to the Hartford Courant, “Craigslist’s CEO, Jim Buckmaster, said criminals who use the site are virtually guaranteed to get caught because they leave electronic trails that are easily traced. ‘So don’t use craigslist for crime unless you want to go to jail,’ Buckmaster said.  Buckmaster said there have been billions of interactions on craigslist and ‘compared to human society as a whole the risks of craigslist are low, but they’re not zero.’”

Personally I think he makes a pretty good point here.  While this is absolutely an extremely unfortunate case that’s created an irreplaceable loss, if Craigslist hadn’t been available as an avenue, something else would have been. 

In another interesting twist of the Internet and social media, according to this Associated Press Article, supporters of Phil Markoff, the alleged “Craigslist Killer,” have banned together on Facebook in a group called “Phil Markoff is Innocent Until Proven Guilty.”

Nicole Amato is an Account Executive at Mediashop PR and a graduate of Northeastern University with a BA in Journalism.