Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced the end of erotic ads on Wednesday. "Craigslist is heeding our clear call for conscience and common sense, sending a strong signal that Internet sites must police themselves to protect others," Blumenthal said. He is head of a multi-state task force of attorneys general.

The popular online classifieds site has been under pressure from states and law-enforcement agencies complaining about ads for prostitution. In Boston, a killer allegedly used Craigslist to meet women.

New Policy Called Half-Baked

Craigslist said postings to the "adult services" category will be reviewed before going onto the site to assure compliance with Craigslist's rules. However, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called the new policy half-baked. His office has a pending criminal case that involves Craigslist.

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster has warned Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster that criminal charges may be filed if South Carolina ads promoting prostitution and pornography are not removed by Friday.

Erotic postings were stopped after representatives from the task force met with Craigslist officials to discuss the complaints from various states, including Illinois, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

"Craigslist is allowing advertisements for illegal activities like prostitution on its site," Illinois Attorney General Chris Koster protested last week. "It is blatant. It is irresponsible. It is illegal."

Until Wednesday, Craigslist had defended its business practices. Last November, the company agreed with more than 40 attorneys general on steps to deal with prostitution. One step to thwart the erotic ads was by charging a fee, and another was to require posters to submit a working telephone number.

Not Enough

While Craigslist officials seemed to believe they were working with authorities, some states disagreed. After the alleged Craigslist killer, Philip Markoff, was charged with murdering a woman in Boston and attacking another in Rhode Island, law-enforcement agencies stepped up their pressure.

Buckmaster responded to McMaster's warnings in his blog, saying the company will work with law enforcement. He said McMaster had no basis for charges.

Support came from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which said the states have no case because the federal Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996, protects Craigslist.

"These measures are a solid next step, not a complete solution," Blumenthal said. "Closing the erotic-services section -- a blatant Internet brothel -- should lead to other blocking and screening measures and set a model for other sites, if Craigslist keeps its word."

More Dangerous Than Print?

Buckmaster has also disputed contentions connecting Craigslist to violent crimes. He cited a Wikipedia listing of murder cases where print ads were involved.

He said Craigslist users have posted more than 1.15 billion ads as of May 7, or 1,000 times the total ever posted to the print publications involved in print-ad murders.

"Anyone demanding that Craigslist use the same protections that print classifieds have employed should be careful what they're wishing for -- because the incidence of violent crime in connection with print classifieds is clearly far, far higher than it is for Craigslist," Buckmaster said.