Argentina President Cristina Fernandez is getting a lot of praise from women's groups and a U.S. ambassador. They're all sorts of excited about what's going on in Argentina right now.
What's got everyone singing her praises? Apparently, Argentina's following Craigslist's lead and banning all prostitution ads in the media. And everyone's all excited because they think removing the ads will help reduce sex trafficking in Argentina.
Susana Trimarco, who has campaigned against sex trafficking since her daughter was kidnapped in 2002, had this to say: “The press has to be conscious of its position as formers of public opinion. I always thought it strange that the first pages should have stories about the crime of sex trafficking, and those in the end should have advertisements offering sex for money.”
Critics of the decision, though, say the government is restricting free speech and the ban won't do much of anything besides punish opposition media. They say that this move is going to seriously cut ad revenue for many publications.
But that's just tough luck, we guess. Even though the Argentine government has yet to work out the specifics, the ban is in effect.