In the latest episode of the Craigslist drama, the online classifieds giant on Wednesday said it has sued South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster.
The company filed suit against McMaster in a federal court in South Carolina, seeking declaratory relief and a restraining order with respect to criminal charges he threatened to bring against Craigslist and its executives.
Two weeks ago, McMaster demanded that Craigslist "remove the portions of the Internet site dedicated to South Carolina and its municipal regions which contain categories for and functions allowing for the solicitation of prostitution and the dissemination and posting of graphic pornographic material" within 10 days. McMaster said if Craigslist didn't comply, the company may be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution.
Buckmaster Objects
In addition to being factually unwarranted, the charges threatened represent an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech and are clearly barred by federal law, charged Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster.
"Interestingly, if you read Mr. McMaster's ultimatum carefully, you'll note that the only way to definitively comply with it is to take down the Craigslist sites for South Carolina in their entirety," Buckmaster said. "The open architecture of Craigslist, quintessential to the value it provides for users, simply does not allow for the absolute prevention of solicitation or pornography, with respect to any of its categories and functions."
Buckmaster said the use of Craigslist in South Carolina has exploded over the last two years. Some South Carolina cities, he reported, have experienced 2,000 percent growth during the period.
"South Carolinians clearly value Craigslist services, and appreciate finding jobs, housing, automobiles, for sale items, friends, romance, community information  , local services, event listings, and just about everything else they need in their everyday lives, all in one place, and all for free," Buckmaster said.
As Buckmaster sees it, McMaster has persisted with his threats despite the fact that Craigslist has eliminated its "erotic services" category for all U.S. cities, has adopted strict screening measures, has fewer and tamer adult-service ads than many mainstream print and online venues operating in South Carolina, and has made company representatives available to hear his concerns in person.
McMaster Welcomes Suit
According to McMaster, the legal action Craigslist has taken is good news because it shows that Craigslist is taking the matter seriously for the first time. More importantly, he added, overnight the company has removed the erotic-services section from its Web site and is taking responsibility for the content of its future advertisements. (continued...)
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