Craigslist pulls all personal ads in response to Congress' anti-online sex-trafficking bill

Image: mashable composite: screengrab/craigslist and emojipedia

By Nicole Gallucci2018-03-23 14:48:03 UTC

We regret to inform you beautiful people of the internet that time has come to say goodbye to Craigslist's personal sections.

The online classifieds site made the decision to eliminate all personal ads on Thursday in response to the Senate passing H.R.1865, a bill that aims to crackdown on websites which promote or facilitate online sex trafficking.

"US Congress just passed HR 1865, 'FOSTA', seeking to subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully," Craigslist posted in a statement online.

"Any tool or service can be misused. We can't take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day."

Though it's unclear exactly which personal ads or how many have been removed from the site, it appears one of the most beloved subsections might be impacted.

The links to Missed Connections — an online community in Craigslist dedicated to uniting crushes around the world who missed their initial opportunity to connect in person — no longer work, but instead take you to an error message.

For years Craigslist has united people both romantically and platonically, and the site addressed all those who've embarked on relationships with the help of of a personal ad, wishing them the best.

"To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness!" Craigslist said in its statement.

The announcement comes a day after Reddit banned several personal sub-reddits, including those that facilitated the transaction of "paid services involving physical sexual contact."

Mashable has reached out to Craigslist for additional comment.

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