Prostitutes newest group to jump on the Facebook bandwagon

By: American Decency Staff

By Chris Johnson Teenagers, businesses, politicians – it seems like everyone wants to have a presence on  Facebook. From its roots as a social site originally created exclusively for college students, Facebook has become a tool used by every age group to connect with old friends, clients and supporters.  The newest group to jump on the Facebook bandwagon, however, may be a bit of a surprise – prostitutes. According to a report recently released by a Columbia University professor, at least 83% of prostitutes have a Facebook page and, as long ago as 2008, 25% of prostitutes' clients in New York came through Facebook. Sudhir Venkatesh spent at least a year getting to know 290 prostitutes well enough that they would talk to him about their trade. He found that women involved in the sex trade were moving away from street walking, which is much more dangerous for them, to an indoor market driven by cell phones and social networks. " Technology has played a fundamental role in this change. No self-respecting cosmopolitan man looking for an evening of companionship is going to lean out his car window and call out to a woman at a traffic light. The Internet and the rise of mobile phones have enabled some sex workers to professionalize their trade. Today they can control their image, set their prices, and sidestep some of the pimps, madams, and other intermediaries who once took a share of the revenue." A site more well known for its use in the sex trade was craigslist.com, a local classified ads site. Craigslist recently shut down its "erotic services" section due to pressure from law enforcement and the public. Venkatesh credits this shut down as part of the reason that Facebook is wearing its latest hat, this time with a feather in it. The question now is whether Facebook will crack down on its new prostitution problem. The social network states clearly in its "Statements of Rights and Responsibilities" that "you will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory." They also reserve the right to terminate a member's profile. " If you violate the letter or spirit of this Statement, or otherwise create risk or possible legal exposure for us, we can stop providing all or part of Facebook to you." This comment is from Steve Ensley,  Internet safety specialist: Although Facebook claims to "come down hard" on illegal activities, there seems to be two very important facts contradicting that statement.  First, it is very hard to find a way to report a bad site on Facebook, check it out, see if you can find any way to report an illegal activity.  Second, does anyone really believe Facebook can or is willing to monitor the daily activity of 500,000,000 users?  Not likely and maybe not even possible. Unlike craigslist which has categories,  Facebook operates in friending mode making it impossible to block a category. I seriously doubt Facebook can or will do anything about prostitution. It is definitely user beware! American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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