Craigslist’s promise to remove its Erotic Services category,
replacing it with a screened Adult Services section, was apparently not enough
for South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who announced plans to prosecute
the popular online classifieds Website, of which eBay owns a minority stake.
"As of 5:00 p.m.
this afternoon, the Craigslist South Carolina
site continues to display advertisements for prostitution and graphic
pornographic material," said a statement on the Attorney General’s Website. "This
content was not removed as we requested. We have no alternative but to move
forward with criminal investigation and potential prosecution."
Craigslist CEO Jim
Buckmaster vigorously defended himself against the allegations.
"He evidently feels justified in singling out Craigslist for
investigation, and publicly condemning me personally as being worthy of
criminal prosecution," Buckmaster wrote in a blog posting. "Seriously? The Craigslist adult services section for Greenville,
S.C., has a total of 1 ad for the last 3 days,
featuring a photograph of a fully clothed person."
Buckmaster went on to cite the overall tameness of Craiglist's
South Carolina postings, compared
to the adult services ads in other traditional media venues throughout the
state.
"Would you target a venue with 9 PG-13 rated ads, or one
with 250 XXX rated ones?" he wrote.
Last week, Craigslist bowed to external pressure in shutting
down its Erotic Services category, which attracted a fair amount of criticism
from law enforcement as a
thinly veiled front for prostitution. Craigslist claimed that it spoke with
not
only law enforcement, but also businesses, legal experts and attorneys general
before coming to that decision.
The new "Adult Services" category will have its entries
individually reviewed before posting; the postings themselves will cost $10,
with an option to repost for $5.
On May 5, McMaster’s office sent a letter to Buckmaster asking
that "immediate steps" be taken "to end Craigslist from being used to
facilitate harmful activities in South Carolina."
"Recent national events, along with ongoing law enforcement
efforts in South Carolina," the
letter continued, "indicate that Craigslist has not installed sufficient
safeguards since November to prohibit the Internet site from being used as a
vehicle to advertise or solicit prostitution."
McMaster is apparently considering a run for the South
Carolina governorship, according to reports.
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