Craigslist competitor shuts personals section, citing controversy

The classifieds site Geebo.com is shuttering its personals section as a "socially responsible" measure, the company announced over the weekend.

"While our clean, useful dating section has been problem-free, we have taken notice of our competitor's increasing problems related to alleged illegal activity and human rights violations in recent months," said Geebo chief executive Greg Collier.

The House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee will address sex trafficking, including the Internet dimension of the problem, at a hearing Wednesday. Craigslist has been criticized by lawmakers and attorneys general for failing to crack down on prostitution and child trafficking facilitated by its website.

Craigslist shut down its "adult services" section but has not said if the change is permanent. Craigslist defenders say it doing its best and it would be impossible for the company to police its boards in a perfect way. 

Geebo has been a prominent Craigslist critics, and interpretations of the announcement will be varied. It could be the company reacting to the Craigslist controversy in a responsible way, but skeptics will question whether the company is trying to capitalize on the negative publicity received by its competitor. 

The move could also be viewed as a way for Geebo to protect itself from the fallout from Craigslist's decision to shut its adult-services section. Experts have said illegal ads will move to other parts of the Web.

"As our competitor's problems grow, we want to ensure that no illegal activity migrates to our site. We are, and always have been, committed to providing the safest, most socially responsible classifieds experience possible," Collier added.