Craigslist to SC AG McMaster: shut up already!

It's IT Blogwatch, and the spat continues between Craigslist and the S. Carolina attorney general, Henry McMaster. Richi Jennings watches Craigslist sue McMaster. Not to mention the best of the #BeatlesFacts...

Austin Modine brings us up to speed:

Craigslist wants a restraining order barring South Carolina's attorney general Henry McMaster from grandstanding threats of criminal charges over the website's adult listings. The online classified site's chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, said Wednesday that Craigslist has filed a lawsuit against McMaster seeking declaratory relief as well as a restraining order from the prosecutor's posturing.
...
Sadly, it appears like the dispute could have been avoided entirely had McMaster — who is considering a run for governor — not ignored Craigslist's response and instead insisted the "erotic services" category be taken down by his own particular timeframe.

Eric Bangeman adds:

Craigslist has been under fire for the past several months from a number of state attorneys general over its Erotic Services listings, with McMaster helping to lead the charge. Last November, Craigslist complied with the request of 40+ state AGs to implement safeguards aimed at cutting down on unlawful activity. That wasn't enough for a number of the AGs. On May 6, McMaster sent an open letter to the classified site telling it needed to take down its adult listings by May 15 or face prosecution
...
One week later, Craigslist responded to the continued pressure by announcing that it was shutting down the Erotic Services section. ... That wasn't enough for McMaster ... he said it was full speed ahead for his criminal investigation. Craigslist maintains that its listings are in full compliance with the law and points out its history of going to great lengths to cooperate with law enforcement.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster blogs his side of the story:

Two weeks ago Mr McMaster presented craigslist with an ultimatum, “to 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.”
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In addition to being unwarranted by the facts, legal experts agree that the charges threatened represent an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech, and are clearly barred by federal law (sec 230 CDA).
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Mr McMaster has persisted with his threats despite the fact that craigslist:

• is operating in full compliance with all applicable laws ...
• has eliminated its “erotic services” category for all US cities
• has adopted screening measures far stricter than those Mr McMaster himself personally endorsed ...
• has far fewer and far tamer adult service ads than many mainstream print and online venues operating in South Carolina.

Kevin Poulsen tracks the spin:

Henry McMaster, the state attorney general, called the lawsuit against him “good news,” because it shows Craiglist its taking the matter seriously. At the same time, McMaster backpedaled away from his earlier threats.
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There’s no doubt that an enormous amount of prostitution, including some child-sex trafficking, has unfolded on Craigslist over the years. But Craigslist says its November reforms — including requiring “erotic services” posters to have a valid credit card — have already made a huge dent in the problem. Because the site is largely an open forum, Craigslist can’t provide 100 percent assurance that no illegal activity will be promoted in its ads. ... Therefore acceding to McMaster’s demands would have required that Craigslist pull out of South Carolina completely.

Man On Pink Corner blames Craigslist for lousy tactics:

Craigslist brought all this ... on themselves when they refused to grow a pair. ... Paternalistic, moralizing governors and DAs have no Constitutional basis to object to anything Craigslist was doing, and the company should have told them to STFU and GBTW.

But instead they tried to "negotiate," "compromise," and otherwise find a middle ground with religiously-motivated censors and nanny-statists. Yeah. That always works. Because those sorts of people always go away and leave you in peace once you give in to their demands. <rolleyes>

But bennomatic turns up the sarcasm to 11:

Like a shark smelling blood, this guy decided he could have a little PR feeding frenzy to fuel his gubernatorial run.

Silly AG, don't you know that a well-educated populace would never fall for such a thing?

So what's your take? Get involved and leave a comment.

And finally...

• Best of the #BeatlesFacts

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 24 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him on Twitter or FriendFeed, pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: contact Richi.