Craigslist sues attorney general over threat of prosecution

The Web’s largest classified advertising site filed a federal lawsuit against Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s attorney general.

The lawsuit
The suit seeks a restraining order to block any further threats and prevent any criminal prosecution by the state against Craigslist.

Craigslist’s CEO, Jim Buckmaster, says in the suit: "As a practical matter, the only way for Craigslist to assure compliance with Mr. McMaster's demands would be to shut down completely all portions of its Web site dedicated to the state of South Carolina."

McMaster has been one of the most determined detractors of Craiglist’s erotic services section. The site has been accused of being "the single largest source of prostitution in the nation" primarily because of this section.

Buckmaster claimed that McMaster threatened prosecution as recently as Sunday. McMaster reportedly said, “We opened an investigation at 5:01 on Friday, as promised…We are preparing for a prosecution. We are investigating. We are moving forward.… The No. 1 defendant is Mr. Jim Buckmaster, who is the man in charge of Craigslist.… Craigslist is a big promoter and facilitator of prostitution.”

Filed in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, the lawsuit alleges that McMaster’s threats contravene Craigslist’s rights under the Communications Decency Act. This Act holds an internet company free of liability for posts put up by its users.

Unexpected move
Craigslist’s lawsuit comes after the Web site decided to put up the shutters on the said section and launch ‘adult services category’ as a substitute. More surprisingly, Craigslist is considered to be unobtrusive, get-along kind of a corporate executive. The lawsuit thus comes as a surprise to many.

Ryan Calo, a fellow at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, said of the unusual and unexpected step taken by Craigslist, "This is uncharacteristically aggressive, but I should stress that I think the circumstances warrant it."

Meanwhile, McMaster termed Craigslist’s lawsuit as a sign of the company taking the menace of prostitution seriously. McMaster vowed, “This office and the law enforcement agencies of South Carolina will continue to monitor the site to make certain that our laws are respected.”