The Waters Have Been Tested, and the Internet is Warm for Regulation

It took longer than expected, but government has finally sunk its teeth into one of free market capitalism’s brightest examples – Craigslist.  In response to hysterical media coverage of “Craigslist Killer” Phillip Markoff last month, state authorities in Connecticut have succeeded in bullying the  14-year old online bazaar to screen advertisements for its “erotic services” section.  Pressured by 40 Attorneys General, Craigslist apparently agreed “voluntarily” to this measure of censorship, although authorities had, several weeks ago, “notified Craigslist of an impending criminal case that implicated its website.” 

Not surprisingly, “the measures could set a precedent for similar sites, said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who led a 40-state task force” in testing the water for the impending crusade against free market capitalism on the internet.    Indeed, no one should expect regulation to stop with this toe-dipping exercise; the waters have been declared safe and, sensing hesitation or unwillingness by private citizens to resist, regulators are unashamedly stripping off their skivvies by the masses and running to join the surf party. 

After all, the open market is a dangerous place, full of violence and fraud from which consumers require government oversight to keep them safe.  Forget claims that “use of craigslist classifieds is associated with far lower rates of violent crime than print classifieds,” or that “Community moderation as exemplified by [the craigslist] flagging system is arguably the most successful system ever conceived for eliminating inappropriate activity from a massive internet community.”  Sadly, the site’s staff optimistically states how it hopes these measures will be considered an “acceptable compromise” by authorities.  Good luck with that. 

Regulators have undoubtedly had their sights set on Craiglist for some time, already having required users of certain services to pay additional “sin taxes” and provide contact information.  Anyone who understands the fear and intense hatred by regulatory bodies for the existence of an open, unregulated, unhindered forum for free trade, certainly did not expect interventionist measures to stop with a simple tax.  These measures represent a determination to regulate the internet; indeed, the unlimited potential for entrepreneurial innovation embodied by Craigslist undermines the government’s notion that traders cannot engage in mutual exchange without outside “guidance.”  With respect to the effectiveness of Craigslist to moderate its site, Blumenthal has made clear who really is the “inescapable force to be reckoned with” by anyone attempting to engage in open internet communications and free market enterprise.

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