They say it’s hard out here for a pimp. Craigslist may have made it just that much harder.

According to a Nov. 6 Reuters article, the popular Internet classified listing service Craigslist has agreed to crack down on advertisements posted by prostitutes in a pact struck with 40 U.S. states. Now, advertisers on the Web site’s “erotic service section” will be forced to pay a fee with a valid credit card and give a working phone number.

The measure taken by Craigslist is a step in the right direction. The offering of prostitution on their Web site is illegal, and it is their responsibility and duty to crack down as much as possible on these instances from occurring. It will now make it harder for prostitution to occur with the assistance of the Web site and will make it more difficult for potential customers to use prostitutes.

On the other hand, it should not have taken this long for something to be implemented. Even though it is a step in the right direction and will likely lower the number of advertisements for prostitutes, more could be done that would further help prevent the problem.

The new policy will gradually weed out these advertisers instead of removing them immediately and completely. Screeners could be implemented to make sure no prostitutes are being advertised. Or even better, the legal products under the section could be moved to other sections and thus eliminate the category used by prostitutes. Hopefully other Web sites will see this and respond similarly. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook, which are generally used by a younger generation than those who use Craigslist, could potentially prevent younger users from getting introduced to and interested in prostitution, which could definitely help to curb the overall societal problem.