By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com
May 18, 2009
The battle between online classified-ad service Craigslist and the Attorney Generals of multiple states over its "adult" advertising section has taken a new turn, with South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster promising to follow through on his threat to prosecute Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster for enabling what he called "the solicitation of prostitution and the dissemination and posting of graphic pornographic material."
McMaster had demanded that Craigslist remove all offending material from its South Carolina site by 5 p.m., Friday, May 15. " We have no alternative but to move forward with criminal investigation and potential prosecution," McMaster said Monday.
In response, Buckmaster criticized McMaster for unfairly targeting Craigslist, while many other companies, particularly print newspapers, were continuing to accept advertising that contained descriptions and images of graphic sex acts. "Our 'adult services' and soon-to-be-retired 'erotic services' sections combined, for all cities in South Carolina, currently feature a total of 40 ads, all of which comply with our terms of use," he said.
"Many prominent companies, including AT&T;, Microsoft, and Village Voice Media, not to mention major newspapers and other upstanding South Carolina businesses feature more adult services ads than does craigslist, some of a very graphic nature," Buckmaster added.
McMaster agreed to table his threat to prosecute Buckmaster, but he promised to move ahead if a case of prostitution occurred from the revamped site.
McMaster was part of a coalition of state Attorneys General that demanded Craigslist take stricter measures to police its "erotic services" section. The AGs claimed Craigslist's self-policing efforts were insufficient, and that the site's easy process for posting ads promoted sex trafficking and contributed to violent crime.
In response, Craigslist agreed on May 13 to shut down its "erotic services" category by May 20, and relaunch it as an "adult" services section, with a stricter approval process and stiffer fees for posting ads. Under the new category, adult-themed ads would be manually approved or rejected by Craigslist's staff.
Although several of the Attorneys General involved, including Illinois AG Lisa Madigan, were satisfied with the move, some were critical. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo criticized Craigslist for making a "half-baked decision...in the middle of the night."
Federal law generally prohibits Web site operators from being held liable for the content their users post, under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. But that law doesn't protect against federal or state criminal charges, such as prostitution, human trafficking, or child pornography — and authorities often use these claims when prosecuting Web sites and owners.
Critics have accused Cuomo, Madigan, and McMaster, all of whom are rumored to be considering campaigns for governor of their respective states, of targeting Craigslist as an easy opportunity to gain headlines.
