So. Carolina AG appears to back down in Craigslist case
Henry McMaster, the South Carolina attorney general who threatened Craigslist with criminal prosecution last week, must assume Web users and the people of his state don't take the time to read.
Henry McMaster, South Carolina's attorney general is no longer threatening Craigslist with prosecution.
(Credit: SCattorneygeneral.org)Just a few hours after Craigslist announced that it had filed a lawsuit against McMaster for making threats and alleging managers of the site were in some way responsible for prostitution ads that have appeared on the site, McMaster claimed victory.
He suggested that it was he and his threats that prompted Craigslist to implement changes to the site, such as setting up a system to review ads before they appear in the new "adult" section and the deleting of the "erotic" section.
"Overnight (Craigslist) removed the erotic services section from their Web site as we asked them to do," McMaster wrote on his site Wednesday. "And they are now taking responsibility for the content of their future advertisements. If they keep their word, this is a victory for law enforcement and for the people of South Carolina."
As anyone who has followed this story knows, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster announced a week ago that he planned to implement a monitoring system for adult ads and do away with the erotic section. This was well before Friday when McMaster posted a note on his site saying he was going ahead with criminal prosecution.
Craigslist had come under scrutiny after law enforcement agencies complained that the site's erotic category was a digital meat market where prostitutes and pimps could safely conduct business. On Wednesday, the state of New York announced it had made seven arrests in connection with an alleged prostitution ring that operated on Craigslist's erotic section.
Craigslist has worked with state attorneys general from across the country to try to find a way to curb sex solicitation on the site. In November, 40 state attorneys general, including McMaster, were part of an agreement with Craigslist that saw the service adopt a series of changes, such as requiring anyone posting to the erotic section to provide phone and credit card numbers. Craigslist met again with a small number of attorneys general earlier this month after a woman was murdered by a man who allegedly found her ad on Craigslist's erotic section.
The important thing here is that McMaster refrained from making more threats and his comments apparently signal he will not be filing criminal charges.
"We trust (Craigslist executives) will now adhere to the higher standards they have promised," McMaster wrote. "This office and the law enforcement agencies of South Carolina will continue to monitor the site to make certain that our laws are respected."
McMaster never had legal grounds in which to prosecute Craigslist managers, according to Matt Zimmerman of the the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He told CNET News the Communication Decency Act protects Web sites like Craigslist from being held criminally liable for the actions of users.
After reading McMaster's comments, some may conclude that one of two events transpired: McMaster didn't get the memo that Craigslist was well on its way to changing the site to satisfy the demands made by a group of attorneys general earlier this month.
Or, the AG simply used the controversy surrounding the online sex trade, a problem that apparently has no easy answers, to drum up a few easy press clippings.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
But I think it hilarious that this other, clearly more political website starts with "scat." Again, I think this whole thing is a big setup for some nasty real-life porno, with Buckmaster and McMaster fighting to "master" each other's "domain."
While others will be speaking Justice, I will be doing Justice.
Would you care joining us?
Ignore the nay-sayers, such as Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, who seem more concerned over the past than the future. South Carolina has given Craigslist an opportunity to redefine who they are. I am sure Mr. Arrington has made a few poor decisions in his life that he would not like to define himself by. If the main concern is slavery, perhaps Arrington should do some more research as to Craigslist?s links to human trafficking. If Craigslist can be forgiven for 21st century slavery practices, than Geebo trusts Arrington could find it in his techie heart to ease up on his South Carolina history lesson.
Taking a stand of solidarity against Craigslist?s recent suit for declaratory relief and a restraining order against Attorney General Henry McMaster, Geebo would like to offer their support and dissection of the turn of events. South Carolina Attorney General McMaster should not apologize for protecting the rights, property and lives of his population. It was what he was voted into office to do. Often, politicians fail to live up to their responsibilities, in McMaster?s case he has gone above and beyond, though still within Constitutional limits, in the name of citizen safety. All McMaster has done is point out that the value of Craigslist does not lie in the ability to freely post, with marginal monitoring. For those that believe that this limits, inhibits or trespasses against Craigslist?s Constitutional freedom, I?ve got news for you?Geebo manually monitors every post, every day to ensure that the only content appearing on the Geebo site is in the best interest of our users.
Conversely, Craigslist has openly admitted, ?We don?t think of ourselves as do-gooders or altruists. We are trying our best to be run with some sense of moral compass?. Their moral compass must have been purchased on their site.
Though Craigslist?s above the law mentality and sense of entitlement is laughable, the issue as a whole is no laughing matter. Craigslist?s Craig Newmark has remarked that, ?There?s no genius behind it. It is persistence and listening to people,? when it comes to Craigslist?s conduct. The people of South Carolina are saying ?Change your ways or get out?. Though the message doesn?t require any algorithm translation, it seems pretty clear.
Craigslist founder, Craig Newmark, has stated before that ?We don?t have much in the way of a business strategy?. Geebo is proud to share the sentiments of disgust and disdain for Craigslist?s shortcomings and irresponsible behavior with the citizens, law enforcement and government of South Carolina. It is true, great minds do think alike!
Hat?s off to you, South Carolina! We at Geebo are impressed by your Craigslist ultimatum and are pleased to lend our support. It is our hope that other state?s follow your exceptional lead.
Personally I'd rather have the cops and state AG's doing something productive with their time besides reading escort ads on craigslist.
The vulgarity of the sex ads is the reflection of human civilization.
We have the media that call a singer who practices SM, a star?
And this same singer calls herself a woman, a madonna?
What do you want me to tell you?
- by GlennAllen May 21, 2009 2:42 AM PDT
- Clearly, the S.C. AG thinks the people of S.C. are stupid... well, only the ones who'd vote for him are.
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